One in the Same
by chibifurby
Summary: After the humans are forced to leave Pandora, selected few were allowed to remain. Among them is a defected soldier who wants nothing more than to learn the Na'vi ways. The one assigned to teach him, however, wants nothing to do with him. OCXOC
1. Chapter 1

I loved Avatar, nothing more, nothing less. So what do I do? I write a fanfiction of course. Read and Review! I apologize if it sucks or if I get facts wrong.

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Chapter 1

**Video Log entry one: 10/07/2154**

**It's the year two-one-five-four. On a search for a rare mineral called unobtainium, we humans have traveled to the moon of Polyphemus, Pandora in an attempt to mine this $20 million per kilo mineral. While being an absolutely beautiful planet especially compared to the, in my opinion, destroyed Earth with almost 99% of its habitable land devoid of wildlife, the wildlife here turned out to be…rather hostile. Everything from the Leonopteryx to the Viperwolf seemed to want to eat us. But out of all the fauna here on Pandora, the one that hated us the most were probably the Na'vi. **

**These…humanoid felines…resented out presence and wanted nothing more than to see us exterminated…well…most of us anyways. To cope with such a hostile environment, the government saw fit to hire ex-soldiers as added protection, myself included. Personally I would rather study such a marvelous place rather than being lumped together with a bunch of trigger-happy mercenaries who only care about the size of their wallets and how many bullets they can fire a day because of my experiences in the marines…but…I move on… The Na'vi didn't like us soldiers…but they seemed warmer towards the scientists…something I envied. To be…diplomatic…our supervisors allowed the scientists to interact with the Na'vi…learn their language and customs while teaching the same about us. But behind all the smoke and mirrors any could see that they wanted nothing more than to get the unobtainium and kill anything that stood in our way, the Na'vi included.**

**Truthfully I am proud to say that the Na'vi weren't exactly easy to kill. Being pretty physically superior to us in almost every way, the Na'vi kept us at bay with bows and arrows…kind of a depressing thought to some but again…moving on.**

**Our scientist found an excellent way to interact with Na'vi. They created clones, mixing individual human DNA and some of the Na'vi's DNA, called avatars. Select scientists were able to mentally link with these avatar, each grown with the selected scientist's DNA, and interact with the Na'vi. Actually I can't say that ONLY scientists got these avatars. One ex-marine…Jake Sulley…came to Pandora in his brother's stead…something about Tom being murdered the week before he was to ship out… Because they were twins Jake was able to take Tom's avatar with no problem, their DNAs being identical and all. I don't know much of what happened…seeing as I'm never in the loop…but what I do know is that Jake would change history. Rumor had it that Colonel Miles had bribed Jake with getting his legs back, Jake being paraplegic and all, to try and work his way into the Na'vi's inner circle and work a "peaceful" negotiation.**

**See…not only were the Na'vi against our presence on Pandora, but this one clan, the Omaticaya, had their home, or as they call it their Hometree, right on top of a huge resource of unobtainium. In short Colonel Miles Quaritch wanted Jake to get the Omaticaya to move. Heh…needless to say that didn't work… Jake ended up falling in love with one of the Na'vi, Neytiri. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion but our superiors, namely Parker Selfridge, saw it as one more reason to simply burn the entire colony to the ground. It's not to be overlooked, Jake did work his way into the Omaticaya's inner circle…right to the top of the clan. When Quaritch and Selfridge decided to attack the Omaticaya, Jake got all…and I do mean all…of the Na'vi clans together and fought us off. I don't know what he did but even the wildlife was gathering against us. In the end it was our defeat and everyone was forced to ship on home. Well…not everyone…Jake was allowed to stay...along with Max Patel and Norm Spellman and several other scientists that worked against Selfridge. Oh…and of course me too…the only mercenary that wasn't killed OR shipped back to Earth. Probably because I defected right before the fight started…in any case I'm here to stay.**

**Jake had moved in with the Omaticaya…somehow they transferred his mind into his avatar? I don't know how that happened… Everyone said it was the work of Eywa, the Na'vi's god. But it doesn't seem to be simply spiritual voodoo… See, we discovered that this entire planet, seems to be connected…like one big organism…now taking that into mind the existence of Eywa doesn't seem to be that farfetched…**

**But the greatest thing to happen was what the scientist agreed to do for me…let me into my own avatar. Having signed up to be one of the ones to interact directly with the Na'vi they had started growing my own avatar…but Colonel Quaritch placed me on the battlefield instead. Today will be my first mental link and my first meeting with the Na'vi without having to shoot them. It's strange seeing that it's been almost a month after everyone else was forced to ship out but I don't care. I-**

**Video Log entry one: Complete**

There was a moment's pause as Kyle Chen looked at the "complete" on his display. "But I wasn't done yet…"

Max Patel looked over at the equipment in front of Kyle and tapped the video camera. "Battery died…"

Kyle groaned and slumped back in his chair.

Max laughed. "I told you to charge it before using it. Or at least plug it in when you use it…" He continued laughing even after Kyle gave him a friendly shove. "Come on…it's not like it's a bad thing. It's about time they got you ready for the mental link anyways…"

Kyle smiled as Max clapped him on the shoulder and stood up. They both headed to the large room that held all the avatar interface pods. Norm Spellman was already waiting there.

"Hey! Ready for your first link?" Norm grinned at Kyle. It was a pointless question seeing as Kyle was already climbing into the pod that was already designated to him. Norm helped Kyle with the machinery, closing it and shutting him inside.

"How is it Kyle? Everything ok in there?" One of the scientists at the computer called out.

"I can breathe yes." Kyle replied.

The scientist laughed as she started to type on the console in front of her. "Smart-ass…Get ready, linking in twenty seconds."

Kyle waited patiently until he felt himself starting to fall asleep, knowing that it meant the link was starting to connect.

"…-le…Kyle…you in there…?"

Kyle blinked his eyes…only to be almost blinded by the bright lights overhead.

"Good, he's responding…" A male voice said. "Kyle can you move your fingers for me?"

Feeling slightly dazed, Kyle did so without thinking too much about it, wiggling his fingers and then clenching his fist.

"How about your feet?"

Kyle did as he was told, wiggling his toes and rotating his feet.

"Nothing seems to be wrong." This time it was a female's voice as Kyle felt a hand feeling along his legs and arms, gripping hard as if feeling what was under the skin.

"Could you try and sit up for us?" The male voice said.

Kyle slowly sat up and looked at himself, holding up his hands in front of his face and then looking down at his legs.

"Good…now just a few more tests…"

A few more tests was simply Kyle doing as they said for the next half hour. But after that, they deemed him ready to go outside. Kyle pushed open the hatch that lead to the outside and was greeted by some of the scientists that operated outdoors, Norm included.

"Ready to finally meet the Na'vis?" Norm patted Kyle on the thigh, being too short now to reach Kyle's shoulder.

"Yes, I've only been ready ever since I got to Pandora…" Kyle said, pushing Norm's arm off of himself.

"Well you're in luck then…" a male voice said and the two of them turned around.

Standing behind them were two Na'vis.

"Jake Sulley…" Kyle smiled and offered a hand, which Jake accepted and shook it. "It's great to finally meet the person behind all this 'revolution'."

"You give me too much credit…" Jake smirked, obviously enjoying the praise.

"You mean not enough credit…" The female Na'vi beside Jake spoke up, her arms wrapping around Jake's.

"You must be Neytiri…" Kyle held out his hand again. "It's an honor."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Dream-walker…" Neytiri smiled but shook Kyle's hand anyways. "But what I want to know is why you are so eager to meet the Na'vi." Anyone could sense the caution in her voice.

"Neytiri, you promised you wouldn't judge…" Jake said softly, placing a hand on Neytiri's.

"As the future Tashik I have a duty to judge…" Neytiri said, folding her arms.

"It's fine…" Kyle smiled, before Jake could say anything else. "I simply want to learn for you Na'vi…everything I can…nothing more…"

"We shall see…come…" Neytiri turned and started to leave the human encampment.

Jake turned back to Kyle and shrugged. "Get used to it?"

Norm laughed and jogged after Neytiri, starting up a conversation with her.

As they traveled, Jake caught up to Neytiri too, leaving Kyle trailing behind. Eventually they reached the new Hometree of the Omaticaya clan. Many of the Na'vi greeted Jake's and Neytiri's return and also greeted Norm cheerfully too, but when it came to Kyle, most simply stared at the newcomer.

"Another Dream-walker?" A curt female voice said aloud."Already too many, yet add one more…" Kyle paused when he heard those words and looked at the female who had spoke, who hissed at him.

"Ralu! Enough…!" A stern voice said loudly. Everyone looked up to see an older Na'vi decending the spiraling path.

"Mother…" Neytiri said, stepping forward. "The Dream-walker that wishes to join like the others."

"We have no reason to deny his wish." Mo'at said. "As he is one of the Sky people that were allowed to stay he must not be here to harm us. His addition is welcomed."

"But he was with those who opposed us!" Ralu argued. "He brought weapons and saw to the deaths of several of our brothers and sisters even before the great battle! Why must we-"

Ralu, as well as much of the murmuring, fell silent when a single Woodsprite floated by. As it floated away everyone looked at Mo'at.

"It has been decided then…Dream-walker…what is your name?" Mo'at asked.

"Kyle Chen…" Kyle replied.

"Kylechen, you are welcome to be a part of The People…if you wish to learn our ways…" Mo'at paused to see if Kyle would confirm a yes or no.

"I wish nothing more." Kyle said politely, withholding the urge to ask why Mo'at had strung his first and last name together.

Mo'at nodded. "…then Ralu will be the one to teach you."

"What?!" Ralu's mouth fell open in horror. "Why must I teach this Dream-walker?!"

Mo'at simply stared down at Ralu.

"_Tashik, fipo kea tung-"_ Ralu tried to argue but Mo'at looked sternly at her. _"…Tslolam…"_

"Then there is no need for any formalities…" Mo'at turned to Kyle. "I welcome you to our family…"

"Thank you…ah-_irayo_…" Kyle said with a slight bow of the head, praying that the small bit of the Na'vi dialect that he managed to pick up was correct.

Mo'at smiled and walked towards Neytiri and Jake as the rest of the Na'vi walked off to continue their original tasks, all except for Ralu that is.

She glared at Kyle for a while before stalking up to him. "Come with me…" She growled, grabbing Kyle's wrist and pulling him towards and through the exit of the Hometree. When she had pulled him far enough that they were alone she threw Kyle's wrist out of her hands as if it was disgusting.

"Listen to me, Dream-walker…" Ralu hissed. "I do not trust you…or the other Sky People...!"

"You seem to trust Jake…" Kyle pointed out, not backing down as Ralu pushed her face close to his, lips curled in a snarl.

"Jake had become _Toruk Makto_…! A high respect amongst The People! I respect him as a fellow Na'vi but it doesn't mean I accept him as a being!""

At this, Kyle decided it was time to back down. Taking a step back and bending his knees slightly so that he wasn't at his full height anymore. He watched Ralu as she watched him, her arms crossed as she glared at him, their eye levels now equal.

After almost a full minute of silence, Kyle decided to speak. "…Can I ask you a question?"

"Why I detest Sky people?" Ralu asked, Kyle hearing the soft growl behind her speech, telling him it was a rather touchy subject.

"Only if you wish but that is not the question I wanted to ask." Kyle said, shaking his head. "It's a more…simplistic question…"

"_Pawn, uniltìranyu."_ Ralu said impatiently when Kyle waited for her approval to speak.

"Why did Mo'at say my first and last name together?" Kyle asked.

"That is Tashik to you, Dream-walker!" Ralu hissed.

"I'm sorry…" Kyle apologized at once, fearing that he was already on thin ice with the fierce Na'vi in front of him. "Why did Tashik say my first and last name together…?"

Ralu opened her mouth, on the pretense of answering but she didn't say anything. Her cheeks glowed purple as she blushed in embarrassment, unable to answer the first question the Dream-walker asked of her. _"Eywa srung Ralu…"_ Ralu mumbled, praying to Eywa seeing that rather than embarrassing and upholding her disgust towards Kyle, she would be the one to be embarrassed for being charged with teaching him yet the first question he posed showed the possibility that he knew more than her.

"Excuse me…?" Kyle raised an eyebrow at Ralu.

"…W-what is a 'last name'…?" Ralu mumbled, still blushing.

The need to tease Ralu was forced out of Kyle's mind. He had detested the idea of harming the Na'vi physically, hurting the female emotionally wasn't too high on his list either. "It's a family name. Indicating which family you come from." Kyle explained.

Ralu's ears tilted to the side in confusion. "A family name…?" Her attitude seemed to lighten slightly, the thought of learning seemed to outshine her disgust for humans.

"Like…" Kyle tried to think of a way to explain. "For example, you…" Ralu's eyes narrowed; once again cold towards Kyle and showing that she was not about to share anything about herself. "Neytiri…what's her full name?"

"Neytiri Dis'kahan Mo'at'itey," Ralu said at once.

"Mo'at'itey…meaning daughter of Mo'at right?" Kyle asked and Ralu nodded. "Well that's basically a last name to us. I guess you can call it a clan name…" Kyle scratched his ear as he thought.

"So…Chen…is your clan name?" Ralu asked.

"In a sense, yes." Kyle nodded. "And Jake's is Sulley."

"And toktor Grace is Augustine?"

"Dr. Grace? I believe so." Kyle nodded once more.

"How many clans do you Sky people have?" Ralu asked, obviously stunned at so many different clans within a single race.

"It's not exactly 'clans' per say…" Kyle tried to explain. "See…we humans aren't as close with each other as you Na'vi are." Ralu gave an amused chuckle, as if she expected nothing more of the Sky people. "Our last names only refer to those we are directly related to, meaning father, mother, brother, sister, child, and sometimes spouse. A last name is passed down from one generation to the next, usually the female spouse takes the last name of the male, signifying that she is part of his family." Kyle looked at Ralu, who seemed to doing her best to wrap her head around the concept. "Get it?"

"I think so…"

"Good." Kyle beamed and clapped Ralu on the shoulder, pulling her back to her senses, causing her to hiss at him and swatting his hand away.

"Do not touch me, Dream-walker…I only ask so I can better teach you our ways as Tashik commands! We start immediately! The less time I must spend with you the better." With that Ralu stalked off, forcing Kyle to do his best to keep up.

**Video Log entry two: 10/07/2154**

**Max told me to do these entries at night rather than in the morning, that way I won't forget as much while I sleep. Today was my first day in my avatar and needless to say it was amazing! Even more amazing was my meeting with the Na'vi. They aren't always a violent race, more like us humans than Colonel Quaritch lead us to believe. I met Jake Sulley and his wife Neytiri…personally I refuse to say mate…makes the Na'vi sound feral…beasts…I also met the Tashik of the Omaticaya clan, Mo'at. Neytiri seemed, rather harsh towards me…maybe it was because I was one of the soldiers that fought against her tribe...honestly I can't blame her, but overall she seems ok. Mo'at seemed nice, at least she was forgiving for what I did. She accepted me wish to join the Omaticaya, to learn their ways. That was all well but my teacher is…not what I was expected. Well it was…but not to that intensity. **

**Ralu (she won't tell me her full name) was chosen by Mo'at to be my mentor in the Na'vi ways. Her hatred towards humans is rather surprising, even towards Jake. Turns out not everyone likes him as much as they say. Her training is…harsh. Even if it's stronger than my own body, I don't know how much my avatar can take. I swear she's trying to get me to give up. She practically pushed me off a waterfall…But I have a weapon against her…She doesn't know everything…despite being proud of being better than human. She gets unnerved when I figure out something better than what she suggests. Her composure isn't always solid and I think I can use that for leverage, make things easier for myself. I guess it doesn't hurt that she's kinda cute too…for a Na'vi…Wait…crap, how do I delete that?...Screw it…I'll just ask Max later…**

**Video Log entry two: Complete**


	2. Chapter 2

It was a huge surprise to see how many people favorited/alerted/reviewed my story in a single day...Maybe I'm just that good?...or the movie was that good?...Most likely the latter but I can dream can't I? For those who haven't guessed it already this will be a romance fanfiction between two OCs...so if anyone was expecting something with the other characters...I'm sorry but that ain't happening...For the bits that are in Na'vi(the italicized bits) the next line will pretty much explain what it means. Please do not pick on my Na'vi...I just translated workable words and made a sentence using English syntax... As for the Video Logs(the bolded bits) if there is a bracketed normal text that indicates someone other than Kyle is talking and will not last for more than a return key. I think that covers everything...remember I'm sorry for any incorrect facts and my poor Na'vi...I'm still learning...other than that please read and more importantly review!

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Chapter 2

** Video Log entry seven: 11/05/2154**

** I know Max said to do this every day but everything's been the same I figured…a little length in between won't hurt and only if there's a difference in a day's pattern should something be recorded. Even if this is a scientific log…hearing something over and over again…same story every day can get…boring…**

**It's been a month since I started training with Ralu…and it pretty much been going as well as my first day…Norm has been waking me up at 4 A.M. saying that Ralu was waiting for me already…I usually don't get to sleep till past midnight…But if you ignore that thought and all the punishment that Ralu put me through the actual learning was no less than exhilarating. With the continuation of strength training and understanding the Na'vi's capabilities in simple travel, Ralu has taught me how to hunt like the Na'vi too. I've never done archery before…and Ralu is forced to continually correct my stance...embarrassing as it is I couldn't hit something 20 feet in front of me but I've been improving greatly with Ralu's help. We also practiced the **_**Tsahaylu **_**too, the neural connection between a Na'vi and pretty much anything else on Pandora. I "bonded" with one of the Direhorse again today, or **_**Pa'li**_** as Ralu insisted I call it. I still can't get used to literally feeling what the **_**pa'li**_** felt, the feeling beneath its feet, feeling its every breath, I can even see what it sees…even though that one is still more understood through experience than it is explanation. Riding…is another story. It's already jarring to be inexperienced with the **_**Tsahaylu**_** but to do it while riding…Ralu kept calling me **_**skxawng**_** over and over again, every time I fall, every time I fail to do as she instructs basically. Jake said that that was how Neytiri treated him at first, and that later they fell in love…I asked if he was implying that Ralu and I were going to fall in love with each other…unfortunately Ralu overheard and smacked me…hard…**

** Video Log entry seven: Complete**

Kyle sat at the entrance to the Hometree, watching the sun rise and waiting for Ralu, expecting another early lesson.

"You are early…" a soft voice said behind him.

Kyle looked around to see Ralu walking up to him. If her tone didn't surprise him, her composure definitely did. She didn't have that uptight air about her, and didn't seem to give her disgust much effort this time.

"You're tired…" Kyle said.

Ralu gave an irritated sniff. "Normally there is no reason for me to wake this early…but seeing as you require extensive training to obtain the basic knowledge…"

"I have all the time in the world to learn everything…we don't need to rush you know…"

"The less time I spend with you the better…" Ralu hissed.

"But if you kill yourself from exhaustion is it worth it?"

Ralu growled and started off, not waiting for Kyle to get up and ready himself. She leapt up and caught a vine that was hanging from a tree and began the climb until she reached the branch the vine was hanging from. Looking back and seeing Kyle was about half way up the vine, Ralu started forward once more, silently running from tree to tree, winding between obstacles and avoiding the more temperamental fauna. Glancing behind, she saw that Kyle was keeping up rather well. Even though Ralu had said it, Kyle had been picking stuff up quite quickly. No longer tired easily on their runs, he kept up with her pretty well.

Ralu shook her head and stared forward. His skills were still less than those of the children of the clan, she had to keep reminding herself…but he never gives up…always eager to learn more…Ralu's cheeks glowed purple as she remembered the night before, before they had all turned in for the night. Some of the other females were gathered and talking and Ralu happened to walk past and over hear a bit of their conversation.

_"Ralu txur, _ _sänume uniltìranyu ke ftue"_

Ralu had smiled at the praise. It was true; teaching any of the Dream-walkers was a difficult task and you had to be strong to accomplish it. All of them were so close-minded, almost never able to comprehend half of what the Na'vi offered to teach them.

_ "Tsatu uniltìranyu…__ kawkrr nume…poan ke __Toruk Makto…"_

Ralu's smile faltered. Although she didn't hold Jake in high regards, the comparison between Jake and Kyle wasn't what unnerved her. Kyle was learning, better than most of the other Dream-walkers. Even though she had berated him for being a moron on numerous occasions…saying that he would NEVER learn was a bit of a stretch.

_"Poan ke'u __längu__…Eywa tìfmetok…Ralu tìngay, uniltìranyu __kawkrr nume…"_

Ralu's smile completely vanished. Too call Kyle nothing…that Eywa's sign was merely to show though example that Ralu had been right all along, that Kyle was not worth training…something inside Ralu seem to cry out…to apologize and say that she had not mean what she had said before. Kyle was not beyond help…Ralu could already see that now. He truly wanted to learn and was learning. It still embarrassed her when Kyle suggested a better alternative to what she was teaching but that only proved how capable he was.

_"Ralu!"_

Ralu looked up to see the gossiping Na'vi waving at her, beckoning her over to join them. But instead of going over to them, Ralu turned and walked away, leaving an air of confusion and suspicion.

Ever since then, Ralu's mind had been on Kyle and wondering had he really deserved that ridicule, which lead to how she felt about him, which, needless to say, lead to an uneasy sleep.

"Ralu!"

Ralu quickly snapped back to attention to realize that she hadn't jumped far enough to reach the next tree and was going to end up falling. Quickly Kyle cleared the jump and turned around to catch Ralu, who had just barely missed the tree. Ralu looked down at the forest floor below, dangling from her arm and Kyle's grip. With a heave, Kyle pulled Ralu up onto the branch and helped her sit down.

_"Oe tsap'alute."_ Kyle said quickly, releasing Ralu's hand.

Ralu shot him a glare but relaxed quickly. She hated when Kyle touched her physically, saying that they would never be that close, but he had just saved her so she would let it slide.

"Are you ok? You never made a mistake like that before…" Kyle sat down in front of Ralu, concern written across his face.

"I am fine…" Ralu murmured, bringing her knees to her chest.

"Are you not feeling well, or something? Maybe we should rest…"

"I am fine!" Ralu hissed, making Kyle back down, but remained sitting, burying her face in her knees.

They sat there in silence for a while until Kyle spoke once more. "Ralu…can I ask you something…?"

"What is it…?!" Ralu looked up, glaring at Kyle.

"Why do you hate me so much? Or…all humans…?"

Ralu was about to give a snide comment but held it back. _"…Oe-ri tsmukan…"_

"You have a brother?" Kyle asked in surprise, this being the first time he heard about it.

"I HAD a brother…" Ralu said sadly, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Oh…" Kyle understood what Ralu was talking about. "I'm sorry to hear that…"

Ralu looked up at Kyle. She was unsure what to say. There was always the possibility that Kyle was responsible for her brother's death, but even so…she knew that Kyle meant what he said. "I…do not blame you…" She said finally. "You did not wish to harm The People…this much…I now believe…"

"Thank you…" Kyle smiled at Ralu.

Ralu blushed and hide her face. "I still do not like you…!" She stood up quickly. "Let us continue…!" She climbed down the tree and started to run along the forest floor.

Kyle couldn't help but laugh. "I know…" He climbed down after Ralu and ran after her, all the way back to the Hometree.

When Kyle finally reached the Hometree, Ralu having run ahead, Ralu was drinking from the dew collected on a large leaf, holding a berry that was the comparatively the size of a pumpkin. When she finished drinking and saw Kyle, she quickly adverted her eyes and jerked her thumb to the leaf, offering Kyle a drink which he gladly accepted.

"We eat…and then we practice with Änsìt again…" Ralu mumbled, biting into the berry.

Kyle sighed. Änsìt was the direhorse that he used to practice with. Admittedly he fell less now…but he was still clumsy with her, making her clumsy, making Ralu scold him.

Ralu watched Kyle out of the corner of her eye and without putting much thought behind it, handed him the berry she held, having eaten half of it already. Kyle didn't question the kind gesture, simply took the berry and ate the rest of it as Ralu took another drink. When she finished she turned to Kyle.

"Let us join the others…come…"

Kyle hesitated. Though most of the Na'vi were good natured towards him, there were those who still didn't like him for being a soldier. Ralu understood his concern too well, hearing what some were saying the night before.

"Wait for me?" Ralu asked, and before Kyle could say anything, she entered the Hometree.

Kyle waited, confused, until Ralu came back out with a woven basket filled food from the early morning hunt.

"Come." Ralu said, pulling Kyle's hand and dragging him to the direhorses.

Ralu picked up her bow and a quiver of arrows, also throwing a set to Kyle.

"Where are we going?" Kyle asked as Ralu preformed the bond with her own direhorse.

"Follow…" Ralu watched Kyle clamber onto Änsìt and perform the bond before riding off.

After reaching a clearing that the Na'vi use for casual riding with the direhorses, Ralu dismounted her direhorse and sat herself at the base of a tree, setting the basket of food next to her.

"What are we doing here?" Kyle asked, climbing off of his direhorse and walking over to Ralu, who was picking through the basket.

"You do not wish to eat with the others right…?" Ralu asked, looking up at Kyle.

"Well it's not that I don't want to eat with them…it's just…" Kyle's voice trailed off.

Ralu adverted her eyes, knowing what was bothering him and shamed that she had thought like the others in the past. "Do not pay them any attention…they do not know you…for you…only a soldier that had opposed The People at one point in time…"

"And you don't mind?" Kyle asked, sitting in front of Ralu.

"I have…understood…that you mean us no harm…that you simply want to…learn…" Ralu said, trying to choose her words carefully.

"But you still hate me right?"

Ralu smiled slightly. "…Of course…" She handed him a piece of viperwolf meat. For a brief second, their fingers touched when Kyle took the meat from her, causing her to pull her hand away quickly.

"Something wrong?" Kyle asked, noticing her reaction.

"Nothing…" Ralu said quickly. "Hurry…we still have a lot to do today…"

Ralu bit down into a chunk of meat that she had, preventing her from saying anymore, so Kyle figured he should start eating too. They sat there in silence for a while before Ralu ended up speaking up again.

"Can I ask you something…?"

"Sure…what is it?" Kyle asked, looking up at her from his food.

"Why do you want to learn our ways as much as you do?"

Kyle was slightly taken aback by her question. Normally when she asked him something it was for general knowledge about humans. Never had she asked him something involving himself, never wanting to get involved with him on a personal level. But Kyle quickly recovered himself.

"You're worried it might be for the wrong reasons, right?"

Ralu shook her head. "You do not wish to harm The People…I know that…other than that…I see no reason to not teach you. I am just…curious…"

"But wouldn't that be wanting to get to know me on a personal level?" Kyle teased.

Ralu blushed and looked away. "If you do not wish to say then just say so."

"I'm kidding, Ralu…" Kyle laughed, leaning back, his arms behind him for support. "I love being like this…in my avatar, to be a Na'vi." he said simply.

"But to want it this much…to learn until you want to collapse… You endure my insults…you endure BEING with me…"

"You make it sound like being with you is a bad thing…" Kyle grinned.

"Why did you decide to stay here on Pandora?" Ralu asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Why not?"

"You do not have a family back on your planet?"

Kyle's grin fell. "No…not anymore…"

_ "__Oe tsap'alute…" _Ralu apologized, knowing how it felt to be asked about a touchy subject.

"No no…it's fine…" Kyle shook his head. "My parents are dead and I'm divorced…"

"I'm sorry to hear that…" Ralu said softly, her ears pulled back in sadness. Then they suddenly perked back up in interest. "But…what is 'divorced'?"

"Where you Na'vi are mated for life…we humans do not uphold such rigid traditions." Kyle explained.

"I do not understand…you mean that you humans…mate with multiple people…?" Ralu asked, shocked at the concept.

"It's shocking isn't it?" Kyle laughed at Ralu's expression. "Don't get me wrong…ideally we mate with one individual and we stay with one. But…humans are selfish…if there is something with their mated that they do not like…they try and get away."

"And that is what a 'divorce' is? To leave your mated one?"

"Simply put? Yes."

"But why? I see no reason why someone would want to leave you…" Ralu said quickly, before she could stop herself.

Kyle laughed at Ralu's words, making her blush. "I wasn't a very rich person…"

"Meaning you did not have a lot of money, right?" Ralu asked, Kyle having taught her about money before, explaining why most of the soldiers came to Pandora.

"Yes. Being a soldier was pretty much all I had. I mean I liked to study different things…but I didn't have the education to do anything back on Earth…" Kyle had a bitter looking smile on his face.

Ralu's ears were once again pulled back. Lying or hiding one's emotions wasn't a big issue with her kind so the concept of a pained smile was something that she only had Kyle as a reference and now knew all too well, seeing all the times he had it when he would over hear some of The People talking about him.

"So I did the only thing I could do to support my wife and kid…I joined up with the crew heading to Pandora to earn a lot of money…" Kyle continued. "But my wife didn't like the thought of me being gone for so long…after six years of hibernation I found out she had sent a transmission to me a year after I had left Earth. She said she had found someone else…someone that could support her better."

"That is horrible…" Ralu could barely get the words out. "But then why stay here? You had no more reason to stay."

"I had no reason to go back." Kyle said simply. "And then I learned more about the Na'vi from the scientists, seeing what I would have been doing if I was allowed to remain on a research team. I wanted nothing more than to be within your traditions…to be a Na'vi. Man…I can't count how many times I wished I was born as a Na'vi…"

They sat in silence, Kyle ending up picking up his bow and a quiver to start practicing as Ralu simply sat there trying to absorb everything she had heard.

"Hey Ralu?" Kyle said after a while.

Ralu's ears perked up when she realized she was called. "What is it?"

"Aren't you mated with someone?" Kyle asked, firing another arrow at a wooden post.

"No…I'm not…why?" Ralu said casually.

Kyle shrugged, pulling out another arrow. "I just thought that when a Na'vi becomes a _Ikran Makto_ they are allowed to choose a mate…"

"That is only for the males to choose." Ralu corrected him. "The females merely have to accept or reject…"

"…No one has chosen you…?" Kyle asked tentatively, knowing that this conversation was a possible mine field.

"Many have…but I have rejected them all…" Ralu said simply, seemingly indifferent to the thought.

Kyle relaxed the tension on his bow and looked at Ralu. "Why's that?"

"Cause they are not the one I wish to be mated with…"

"Well is there someone you do wish to be mated with…?"

Ralu didn't answer right away, instead looking Kyle directly in the eyes. After a moment, she spoke. "No…"

Kyle shrugged and pulled his bow back again and aimed.

"At least…not yet…" Ralu added under her breath as she watched Kyle's arrow hit the exact center of his intended target.

**Video Log entry eight: 11/06/2154**

**Of course the night that I say every day is the same the next day has stuff worth recording…This morning, Ralu seemed really tired. I guess waking up at 4 A.M. isn't normal for the Na'vi too…she goes out of her way to push me… But today, Ralu seemed different, and I don't mean just because she was tired. Did something happen last night? She seemed…nicer to me…and she even tripped up on our run…she's never done that before…but knowing her it's best to not ask… I also learned that she has a brother who was killed by one of our people. She said that she didn't blame me…but I can't help feel responsible. Before I thought that some of The People's bitterness towards me was a little extreme…but thinking about Ralu and her brother…it may not be enough…**

**After our run we returned to Hometree. She…shared…a snack with me, as if we were…friends. Don't get me wrong…it'd be awesome if we were to become that close…are we that close…? She even went out of her way to make me feel comfortable. I had been feeling uneasy being with the other Na'vi…especially those who still despise me…and Ralu…I guess she knew how I've been feeling… so as a remedy, I guess, she took me on a…I guess you can call it a picnic…rather than eating with the rest of the Na'vi… **

**Probably what was equally weird was she started asking about me. Like, personal things, getting to know my life and she even let me ask about hers. Could she…maybe?...be warming up to me?**

[Max] **Corny…!**

**Must you?! I feel awkward enough already by just wondering about it…**

**Video Log entry eight: Complete**


	3. Chapter 3

Avatar is great blah blablah blablah...I do not own Avatar blah blablah blablah...Read and Review blah blablah blablah...if I make a mistake I'm sorry, I suck at Na'vi and facts pertaining to their ways and culture blah blablah blablah...

Now people need to review more so I know what you people think...and how I can keep you from deserting me...cause that would be sad...=(

Max White...I know Kyle's training is repetitive...but if you notice there's key events that take place within the training...if I don't add the training then I would have to make up some other task that I can have Ralu teach Kyle or it'll just look like two people just standing there talking to each other and that would be boring...plus it's only the second chapter and my story is two days old...cut me some slack and be patient. I agree seeing training over and over again gets boring that's why they create montages but seeing as this is a written story I do my best to skip over most of the unneeded stuff for you. Don't worry...you have exciting and new things below so...have fun with that. =)

Also Satsu-kun...I love your review...nice and lengthy...-er than most people...I agree with you too...nice drawn out, descriptive stories are nice...and magical love/relationships are over rated and aren't always the best. However I will have to answer you at the bottom...since saying stuff up here will spoil stuff...All I can say is if you look at the date at the beginning of each chapter, there's about a month in between, meaning that it's not instant and completely magical. There's something that I've come to noticed with the Na'vi. They don't seem to understand the concept of love other than family and they become mated for position. When Neytiri was suggesting females for Jake she kept mentioning how great their status was...one being the greatest singer the other a very good hunter. Then you look at Neytiri and Tsu'Tey, Neytiri was future Tsahik and Tsu'Tey an awesome warrior. It's all about position and status to them until Neytiri meets Jake. And notice how they can't choose a mate until they gain the STATUS of Ikran Makto. Being that she's just discovering love, you can rest assured that Ralu will have a lot more awkwardly goodness.

And to everyone else please read and review!

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Chapter 3

**Video Log entry ten: 12/01/2154**

** Believe it or not, but yesterday was Ralu's birthday. It's surprising to hear that as together as the Na'vi are, they don't celebrate birthdays…but then again if you think about how many people are in the Omaticaya clan you'd be having a celebration everyday if you celebrated birthdays…I really wish that I had known earlier…that way I could've done something for her. But she insisted that I didn't…she didn't give me a reason but the thought seemed to embarrass her…it's hard to think that cold Na'vi from almost two months ago is the same that's pretty much the closest to me out of the entire clan right now. She still refuses to call me her friend though…but that doesn't bother me anymore. To me, we are, if not more.**

** On the training front, Ralu finally let up on the four o'clock runs…meeting up with me right before the morning meals. Her claim is I FINALLY reached the point that it had become unneeded. I don't think it's sarcasm either. I do feel stronger…well…in my avatar of course…My practices with** **Änsìt has gotten better too, not to mention my skill to use a bow. Ralu says that I'm becoming more like a Na'vi by the day.**

** She introduced me to her Ikran too. She called him Tet'su and I swear she told him to try and bite my tail off. But seeing how close Ralu was with Tet'su…it makes me want to have an Ikran of my own, but she said I was far from ready to become an Ikran Makto.**

**Oh, we also started eating with the rest of the Na'vi again last week…but for some reason Ralu seemed oddly cold to some of her old friends…I wonder if I had something to do with it…In any case she's always sticking by me now, as if proving a point.**

**Something is troubling me though…today we found a dead Woodsprite…I didn't think it was possible to find one dead but I was wrong. Apparently this wasn't the first either. Ralu told me that they found one three months before the final battle…in other words the day that Jake Sulley arrived on Pandora. But next to it were at least two other live ones, and Mo'at told me they interpreted that as something bad was about to happen but in the end it would have a very good outcome. This time it was just one dead…in short…shit's about to hit the fan…**

**Video Log entry ten: Complete**

"Ma'am…Ma'am! You can't do that! If you forcibly stop a mental link it could have very bad side-effects…! Ma'am!"

-

Back at the Hometree, the Na'vi were coming in for a mid-day meal, in other words, lunchtime.

"You surprise me, Kyle…" Ralu was saying. "To hit that _Yerik_ as far as you were…you've become a very capable hunter…You can actually contribute to the daily meals now."

"I have you to thank, Ralu…you're teachings were invaluable." Kyle said with a smile, looking down at the female Na'vi next to him as he carried the six-legged animal on his shoulder.

"Flattery will not impress me, Kyle…" Ralu smiled. "Now more will be expected of you…With Tsahik's permission I will be taking you on daily hunts now…"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Great…more reasons for you to scold me."

Ralu laughed. "Only cause you deserve them."

Kyle was about to laugh to when there was a scream that came from within the center of Hometree. Dropping everything, everyone started to run over to see what had caused the scream. When Kyle and Ralu reached the source of the commotion, they saw, collapsed on the floor and unconscious, one of the Na'vi…or more precisely an avatar, one of the scientists that had chosen to interact with the Na'vi through an avatar.

"What happened?!" Everyone turned around to see Jake, Neytiri, and Mo'at running over to the crowd, everyone making room so that they can get through.

"T-toktor Ryder…" One of the females that was with the scientist when she collapsed stammered. "I do not know how it happened…! She just…fell and stopped moving!"

There was another shout and everyone turned to see another avatar collapse, this time it was one of the ones like Kyle that wanted to be integrated with The People and was just out on a hunt.

"Ryan! _Ryan txen! _Wake up!" One of the other hunters were shouting, shaking the avatar.

Ralu quickly turned towards Kyle, who looked back at her.

"No…" Ralu choked out, as she tried to reach out to touch Kyle's face.

Just before her hand made contact with him, Kyle could practically hear a click and his avatar body fell, lifeless.

In the lab, Kyle's eyes opened just as his pod was wrenched open.

"What the hell is-?!" Kyle started to shout as he tried to sit up.

But before Kyle could finish his sentence, he found a hand-gun pointed at his forehead as he was forced back down against the pod.

"Are you Jake Sulley…?!" a harsh female voice hissed.

"No! What the hell is going on?!" Kyle shouted, struggling, blinded by the overhead lights so he couldn't see who was holding him down.

Suddenly Kyle was grabbed by his sleeve and pulled out of his pod, where he was forced into a group with the other scientist, including Max.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Kyle shouted, seeing who his attackers were.

All of them were unfamiliar faces. The one that had a hold of him was a very fit woman. She wasn't bulky but she had power behind her every movement. A pair of glasses was set upon her hard face which added to the image of authority.

"Colonel Deverneil …" Max muttered, as said colonel pulled another scientist from her pod.

"Screw formality, what's her first name?!" Kyle hissed.

"…Hazel…" Max said as the scientist that was just pulled out of her pod was thrust into the group as well.

Kyle gave him a deadpanned face. "You've got to be kidding me…" He turned to the colonel as she turned to face them. "Deverneil! What the hell is going on?! Why are you here?!"

Colonel Deverneil narrowed her eyes at Kyle. "You must be out of your mind, soldier…I am here because we are the next scheduled reinforcement…every six months…or has everyone here gone mental?!"

"But everyone was forced to leave three months ago! Why are they still sending reinforcements?!" Kyle shouted.

"It takes six years to travel here…" Max tried to explain. "Even if they were ordered to pull out, these guys and many others will still be on their way before being told to go back. Unless they get an order to turn around as they travel but it looks like these guys missed that command."

"Pull out?!" the colonel questioned. "There should've been no reason for anyone to pull out! Where is Colonel Quaritch?!"

"Dead!" Kyle answered instantly.

"That good for nothing…!" Deverneil hissed. She then turned to the soldiers that had followed her into the lab. "Alright! I want mining operations to start up at once! Get those drillers in action immediately! And kill everything that gets in your way! And if anyone finds this Jake Sulley I want him shot on the spot!"

"Hurrah…" One of the soldiers smirked and they all filed out.

"Wait you can't start mining again! Everyone had direct orders to leave Pandora!"

"Then why are you still here…?" Deverneil faced Kyle.

"Cause we decided to stay and broke away from the company!"

"Well…" Deverneil said, acting casual. "Then we decide to stay too…break away from the company if we must…we'll still get money selling the unobtainium…"

"You're crazy! You'll all get killed by the Na'vi, not to mention Eywa herself!" Kyle shouted.

"The Na'vi are a bunch of animals that simply need to be put down…" Deverneil shrugged. "And as for this 'Eywa', I don't believe in any god other than the god of death…which just so happens to be on our side…"

"You're never going to succeed!" Kyle growled, but just as he finished speaking there was a bang and blinding pain shot through his leg as a bullet tore right through it, causing Kyle to collapse, clutching his leg.

Deverneil relaxed her gun arm, an empty shell popping out of the hand-gun in her hand. "Not if I have anything to say about it…" She turned to the other scientists. "Lock him up!" She glared at them, as if asking them to defy her.

Quickly, at least two pairs of hands grabbed Kyle and dragged him out of the room.

Kyle looked up to see Max to his left, and one of the avatar operators, Ryan, to his right, each holding an arm.

"What are you guys doing?! You're actually listening to her?!"

"If it means making sure you don't get shot again and gives us a chance to get back to the Na'vi, and warn them then yes!" Ryan hissed under his breath.

Max turned to the woman falling them. "Ryder…you know how to fly a SA right?"

"I've had training, yeah…"

"Then get Kyle out of here…if he stays here he'll probably get into more trouble with Deverneil. We'll say he simply overpowered us and made you and Ryan take him back to the Na'vi. He's a soldier so at least it'll probably be believable." Max suggested.

"But they're under the Hallelujah Mountains! The magnetic field there will fry my sensors and I'll be flying blind!" Ryder argued.

"Well then it's time that you three put your Na'vi training to some practical use!" Max said. They passed a weapon cache and Max took one of the M60s and handed it to Kyle. "For appearances…you know…"

"Max…lean down a little…" Kyle said, taking the M60.

Confused, Max leaned down only to get punched in the cheek by Kyle. "What was that for?!" Max cried out, a bruise already forming on his cheek.

"For appearances…you know…" Kyle smirked. "And for messing with me about Ralu…"

"Ass-hole…" Max said, rubbing his cheek. He looked up at Ryder and Ryan, Ryder taking Max's place on holding Kyle. "Now go, everyone should be outside now so get into one of the SAs and get out of here as fast as you can! Find Norm, he should still be with Jake and the Na'vi!"

"I guess it does pay to not use your avatar 24/7…" Ryan muttered as they all put on exo-packs, Ryder helping Kyle with and pulling him to his feet.

"I hope Max will be ok…" Ryder whispered, helping Kyle steady himself on Ryan's shoulder.

"He's fine…he has experience with being an inside man…" Kyle mumbled as Ryan helped him towards one of the spare SA-2 Samsons.

Ryder pulled off the sheets that were covering the engines and jumped into the pilot seat as Ryan helped Kyle into the tiltrotor-craft and bandaged his gunshot wound. Ryder started up the craft and lifted off immediately, praying that no one was in Operations Center yet that may spot them. They left the compound and headed towards the floating mountains and the Na'vi Hometree next to it. The flight was only twenty minutes but to Kyle, Ryder, and Ryan it seemed way too long. When they touched down near the Hometree, Na'vi were already running out of it to see who it was, Jake, Neytiri, and Ralu included.

As Ryan helped Kyle out, Ryder flipped several switches and jumped out. The tiltrotor-craft started to rise into the air and flew itself towards the mountains, crashing into the side a minute later and exploding.

"There…now we're dead…" Ryder said with a smile.

"Good thinking…" Ryan nodded as the Na'vi approached him.

"What happened?!" Jake asked.

"Is he ok?!" Neytiri pointed at Kyle's bandaged leg.

"I'm fine…" Kyle said, glancing up at Ralu, who had yet to say a word, only looked down at him. "Just a souvenir from Deverneil…"

"Who…?" Norm, who had finally caught up, asked.

"Colonel Deverneil." Ryder explained. "She came with the scheduled reinforcements that missed the order to pull out. She's definitely worse than Quaritch and Selfridge put together…"

"What?! More Sky people come to Pandora?! Why?!" Neytiri asked, looking from the humans in front of her to Jake.

"Probably the unobtainium…but the closest resource to them would probably be in The Ruins…" Jake said, meaning the ruins of the old Hometree that Quaritch had burned down.

"It's a good thing you picked somewhere with some distance with that place…" Ryan said. "It looks like Deverneil wants only two things…money and blood…namely your blood, Sulley…"

"Not a shocker…" Jake said bitterly. "But it's still only one group so we're not at a loss just yet…we can still fight them off."

"But with the cost of how many more, Jake…!" Kyle said, glancing once more at Ralu, who still remained silent. "We've already lost many of our brothers and sisters in the final battle! Not a lot of us can take anymore hardship…"

"If Sky people threaten our home, then we will fight!" Neytiri hissed, followed by a murmur of agreement from the crowd behind her.

"I admire your courage, Neytiri but if we can do this without another war…"

"What are you suggesting, Kyle…" Jake looked from his mated to Kyle.

"So far the only reason Selfridge wanted the Na'vi out of the way was to get the large resource under The Ruins…and the Omaticayas got in their way. Right now the unobtainium under the ruins is the only reason that they still want to mine. If they can't find any more after that…"

"But they will! Pandora is rich with Unobtainium." Norm argued.

"Then that is when we fight…but only defensively. Thankfully there's still not much recorded about Pandora. Selfridge only managed to scan about as far as The Ruins which unfortunately had to be situated so close to the Operations Center…if we can keep them from getting any further out than that from the OC then maybe they'll pull back."

"I doubt it…" Ryan interjected. "Deverneil seems like the woman who, if she doesn't succeed at first, she'll just come in harder than before. But like Jake said…she doesn't have a lot of men…if we can pick them off slowly…as long as they're all gone before six months, we'll be fine."

"There were a lot of scientists in this addition too…" Ryder pointed out. "That makes their might number drop even more."

"How does that sound…?" Jake said, looking at Kyle.

"Better than all out war…but then again you are the _Olo'eytkan_, Jake…it's your choice in the end…" Kyle said, nodding to Jake.

"Then we'll go with this plan…we know where they're going and we know how they'll get there…thankfully they don't know where we are yet so they won't come attacking us…" Jake said. "We'll get you guys to that outpost up on the mountains and you guys can use the interface pods up there."

All the Na'vi started to head back to the Hometree, except Ralu.

"You guys go on ahead…" Kyle said to Ryder and Ryan.

They nodded and set Kyle down on the ground and ran to catch up with the Na'vi. Kyle sat down on the ground, to relieve the pressure from his injured leg. Seeing Kyle sit down, Ralu sat down too. They sat in silence for a while.

"Does it hurt…?" Ralu asked after several minutes.

Kyle looked up at Ralu. Her expression was unreadable for the most part, but he could tell she was in a tender phase at the moment. "Yeah…" Kyle nodded, rubbing his leg slightly. "But it's getting better…it'll take time to heal…but I'll be fine."

Ralu nodded and fell silent again. Minutes passed and Kyle didn't bother breaking the silence, just sat there in front of Ralu until she spoke again.

"I was…scared…" Ralu finally said. "When everyone started to collapse…"

"It was all of a sudden…" Kyle said, nodding.

But Ralu shook her head. "We have seen it happen with Jake and toktor Grace…we knew what was happening and of course we feared as to why…but…"

"That's not why YOU were scared…" Kyle supplied. Ralu nodded. "Then why were you scared…"

"I thought…something had…" Ralu voice quivered. "I thought something had happened…to you …I do not understand why…but I thought…I was scared that I would never see you again." Kyle was shocked to see tears starting to fall from Ralu's eyes.

"Ralu…?!" Kyle slowly stood up and limped over to Ralu and, using her to balanced himself, reached over to wipe her tears away. "Ralu…talk to me…"

_"Oe-l kam__äng__e __rìmä'ä…"_ Ralu cried, shaking her head.

"See?" Kyle was confused. "What didn't you see?"

"_Oe-l_ _nga-ti_ _kam__äng__e__ rìmä'ä…!"_

"You didn't see me? Ralu what are you talking about?"

"I did not see you, Kyle, for who you were to be…!" Ralu explained, still crying openly.

"Who I was to be? Ralu I'm afraid I don't understand…"

"I wished for you to be my mated…" Ralu confessed, tears continuing to fall.

"W-what…?" Kyle was stunned to say the least. "Ralu…what are you saying…you want me… to be your mated? But even if that was true I can't…I'm not even a Na'vi…"

"But _oe-l_ _nga-ti_ _kameie_, Kyle…You are Na'vi…I believe it…! I know it!"

Kyle didn't know what to do, so he did the first thing that came to mind. He hugged her, wrapping his arms around Ralu's neck and hugged her tightly.

"Kyle…what are you…?!" Ralu asked, bewildered, hesitantly placing her arms around his back.

"That's what we humans call love, Ralu…" Kyle said softly. "And…I love you too…"

Ralu was stunned. But then she smiled and hugged Kyle tightly. _"__Irayo, Eywa…"_ Suddenly there was a hissing noise then and Ralu looked down to see Kyle removing his Exo-pack. "What are you doing?!"

"This will only take a sec…" Kyle assured, removing the mask from his face. And once he did, he pressed his lips against Ralu's.

Stunned at first, Ralu didn't know what to do, kissing not being part of The People's tradition, but she had heard about it from Neytiri. The action gave a small tingling feeling inside of her and she liked it so she started to mimic Kyle and started to kiss him back. After a moment Kyle slowly pulled away and placed his Exo-pack back on, allowing him to breathe once more, and smiled up at Ralu.

Ralu giggled slightly, pressing her forehead against Kyle's. "_Oe-l_ _nga-ti_ _kameie…"_

"_Oe-l_ _nga-ti_ _kameie, Ralu…_Consider this…a late birthday present…_"_

** Video Log entry eleven: 12/02/2154**

** Today has been no more than a huge rollercoaster ride…It started off pretty normal...late morning hunting training with Ralu…but then things turned for the worst. This…Colonel ****Deverneil came in and pulled everyone out of their pods. Apparently not everyone got the memo saying that Pandora was off limits…She even shot me…bitch…Max managed to get me out of Hell's Gate though…and me, Ryan, and Ryder escaped to the Na'vi's Hometree. Jake didn't seem too surprised about it, and to say the least, after the initial shock neither were the rest of us…**

** Our plan is to hide and wait…picking off the reinforcements one by one…slow but it's safer for us and they're bound to run out of people eventually…seeing it was just a normal routine reinforcement…The plan is for us to watch where they go, strike them when they stray from the path between Hell's Gate and The Ruins and several on the way to The Ruins when they try and mine the Unobtainium. As far as we know they don't know what the Na'vi are capable of…Deverneil doesn't seem to know what happened between the Na'vi and humans so if we keep the attacks light and random**** and with Jake out of the picture****, we can make her think it's regular attacks.**

**Max stayed behind with the other scientists…pretending to still be on Deverneil's side and watching from the inside for us…I'm sure they'll be fine, provided that they play their cards right…At least this way we can tell if Deverneil suspects anything. Me, Ryan, and Ryder are up on the outpost on Hallelujah Mountains right now. It's been recorded as abandoned so we should be fine up here…Ryder also crashed the Samson we stole so that should make it look like we died too…**

** But even with all this crappy news there's still something great that came out of all this…Ralu confessed to me today…and yes I do mean that kind of confession. I decided to come clean and tell her I loved her too. I really don't think she could be any happier judging from the way she acted…She's just outside right now…**

*The camera is adjusted so that it pointed out the window, where Ralu sat with Kyle's avatar and Tet'su. Ralu notices the camera, smiles, and waves. The camera is adjusted again so that only Kyle's face is seen.*

**I really have to work hard now…Ralu already believes I'm one of The People…I just have to prove her right and become an **_**Ikran Makto**_**…I have a long way to go…but I'll do it…for her. On our way up the mountain we saw several Woodsprites floating around…today might have been bad with Deverneil and all…and it might get worse from here on out…but I know…we will make it through this…together. Hand in hand if we must.**

** Video Log eleven: Completed**

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Ok...Satsu-kun and anyone else who had a similar concern. I'm afraid that you might think that a magical relationship is happening here but just remember what I said before...it's not going to be the most solid thing in existence. Because you brought it up I will comfort you in saying this much of what's to come. Kyle has yet to become an Ikran Makto meaning he can not choose Ralu as a mate and therefore she is technically still up for grabs. Ralu, being inexperienced as she is, probably doesn't know the ups and downs of love. Therefore all things in consideration, it won't be a very smooth ride and embarrassing Ralu is something I definitely plan to do. So I do hope you decide to stick this through to the end.


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't remember this before...probably cause I didn't want to remember. But since school started updates won't be everyday like they have been for the past four days...I know I'm sorry that I have to make you wait, but think about it...if I work everything out on a daily basis the story is probably going to sound rushed because I can't think of any more plot and when I run out of ideas I'm probably going to end the story sooner which no one will like. So please I beg you be patient with me. When I get the chance I'll write more. I have the ideas but it takes time to put it in a well written form, time which I won't have starting yesterday, yes I said yesterday. Updates will happen and I won't forget but you will have to wait indefinitely which I apologize for. I do love Avatar and I like where this story is going so I will come back to it, that I promise you!

Usual still applies! I love Avatar, I do not own Avatar, my Na'vi sucks so if there's facts wrong or my sentences are wrong please forgive me but you can tell me, that way I do not keep making mistakes, and please please read and review!

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Chapter 4

**Video Log entry twelve: 12/09/2154**

** It's been a week since Deverneil showed up and believe me when I say she's a lot more trouble than Selfridge or Colonel Quaritch. She's taken full charge of things back at Hell's Gate. Within a week they've already set up mining operations at The Ruins… Like we planned we've been keeping the soldiers blocked in…killing a few at a time…making sure they can't scout out any more unobtainium. Thankfully Deverneil has been mainly focusing on mining. If we blocked them at EVERY turn, those at Hell's Gate will probably figure out we're boxing them in…**

** A lot of the Na'vi are out for blood though…the land, even when it's dead, is still sacred to them. Even Ralu has trouble sticking by with me at times. She may be nice to me now…but she's still a hardened warrior…and her attitude towards humans in general doesn't help much…If it weren't for her needing to train me and my…influence…over her, I'm sure she'd be one of the first to lead a head-long charge.**

** I think some of the Na'vi like me even less now…They wanted to end it quick…one large attack on Hell's Gate and win in one fell swoop. That would be nice and all but the fewer brothers and sisters that we lose the better in my opinion, even if it means going slow and steady. Others just want to see complete annihilation, Ralu included. I can't help but think that sometimes…their idea may be better…Jake is holding them back for now, insisting they stick with the plan…but I know he's considering changing his mind.**

** On a good note, Max and the others are fine. They sent us a transmission saying that none of them were suspected. They saw the SA crash and Deverneil has left me, Ryan, and Ryder for dead so for now we're in the clear. I just hope that Max and the others don't do anything stupid to draw attention to themselves…**

** Damn even the good news is depressing…why am I doing this again…?**

** Video Log entry twelve: Complete**

There was a resounding thunk as an arrow embedded itself into a wooden target.

"Well done!" Ralu smiled slightly as Kyle rode by on Änsìt, bow in hand and a quiver on his back. "Try a couple more."

Kyle turned his body, Änsìt mimicking and turning to run the other way. Kyle pulled back his bow until the feathers grazed his cheek and he took aim. Just as Änsìt ran past the target, Kyle released his arrow and it flew towards the target, hitting just slightly off the center. Kyle tried again, turning Änsìt around for another pass. Twice more he tried, both hitting arrows about the same distance away from the center as the second arrow.

"Not perfect but both solid kills…" Ralu praised as Kyle brought Änsìt to a stop in front of her. "Your aim is getting better and so is your timing…" Ralu rode her direhorse around Kyle and she drew an arrow and strung it, still facing him, her back towards the target. "Do not hesitate so much…you have the ability so just trust in yourself and remember your training…" Ralu pulled the bow taught and turned around, firing almost instantly and watched as her arrow hit the exact center of the target. "And you will get a definite kill every time…"

Kyle sighed and nodded.

Ralu gave a soft smile, riding up close to him, and gently bumped her forehead against his, a common display of affection for the Na'vi. "Come…we should go eat…"

Kyle nodded and rode after her as she headed towards the Hometree. When they got to the base of the Hometree, they both dismounted and headed in. They both got some food from the morning hunt and climbed up the Hometree to where they had made into their usual spot, on top of one of the higher branches and away from most of the crowd of others. They sat down and ate together, enjoying one another's company.

When they were half way through their meal, several Na'vi leapt down onto their branch from above and ran down the spiral that lead to the base of the Hometree, all except for one that stopped when he spotted Kyle and Ralu.

_ "__Pelun nga ftang?"_ One of the Na'vi who had run ahead backtracked, noticing his friend had stopped. This also caused Kyle and Ralu to look up, Ralu turning around to see.

"_Fipo __uniltìranyu__ fìtsenge_ _lu_ _n__ìm__eu,"_ the Na'vi who had stopped whispered under his breath, expressing his distain of Kyle's presence, more to himself than anyone else.

Unfortunately, Ralu had heard. _"Nga __kempe plltxe?!"_ She snarled and stood up.

"That Dream-walker is not wanted here!" The Na'vi repeated, standing his ground.

Ralu stomped forward and grabbed the strap of the Na'vi's quiver of arrows and pulled him forward, and slightly down considering she was shorter than him. "Kyle is allowed to stay! He thinks of nothing but The People!" she hissed.

"He refuses to allow us to attack Sky People! He still defend them!" the Na'vi hissed back, fangs bared.

"_Olo'eyktan_ agrees with Kyle! Better for The People!"

"For now…just wait…"

Suddenly there was a commotion from down below, down at the base of the Hometree. The Na'vi glared at Kyle and Ralu before leaping off the branch, grabbing one of the large leaves to slow his fall. Ralu turned back to Kyle who nodded and they both leapt down, following the Na'vi before them. When they reached the crowd below, they saw two Na'vi, carrying a third.

"What's going on?" Jake and Neytiri appeared behind the crowd once again.

"It is Jala…_Olo'eyktan_…the Sky people…they…saw us while we hunt…they…shot Jala…" One of the Na'vi hunters explained.

Neytiri quickly bent forward to where the hunters had laid Jala and tried to feel for a life sign. After a moment, she stood up.

"He is with Eywa now…"

There was a collective stiffed cry of sorrow throughout the crowd as everyone mourned for the loss of a brother. Kyle too felt the sorrow but something else caught his attention. Next to him, Ralu seemed pretty much beside herself. She had a hand clapped over her mouth to prevent herself from crying aloud and tears streaming down her face. Suddenly she pushed through the crowd and knelt next to Jala's body and started to cry openly.

"R-Ralu…?!" Kyle tried to follow Ralu through the crowd, completely bewildered by her behavior. But a hand grabbed him and pulled him away from the crowd. "What the-"

When Kyle managed to turn around to see who got in his way, he saw the Na'vi that was with him and Ralu just minutes before.

"This…is your fault, Dream-walker!" the Na'vi hissed.

"How is this my fault?!" Kyle snarled. "And who is that anyways?!"

"You do not know…?!" the Na'vi asked, incredulously. "You spend so much time with Ralu and you do not know?!"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? You all aren't exactly telling me much right?!"

"He was her intended!"

"I-! What…?" Kyle almost didn't catch what the Na'vi said. "He was her…"

"Intended, yes…" the Na'vi hissed. "But because you had to interfere…"

"But she said that no one that had asked her she wanted to be with…"

"She had yet to decide for Jala…" the Na'vi narrowed his eyes at Kyle. "He had asked her shortly after you decided to appear. She held consideration for him!"

"But that doesn't make him her intended! That just means he didn't get rejected right away!"

"For someone like Ralu, who rejected all others instantly...!"

Kyle knew where the Na'vi was going with what he said. He glanced over at where Ralu still cried over Jala, the other females trying to console her. She had yet to notice something else was going on behind her, her full attention being on Jala.

_ "Nga uniltìranyu__ fìtsenge_ _lu_ _n__ìm__eu,"_ the Na'vi hissed. _"Nga si set kame…?!"_

Did he See? He didn't know anymore. Had Ralu lied to him? And if she did, why? To protect him? To hide the fact to him? But in the end, Ralu lying didn't seem to surprise him. She had detested him so much and he, after all, had taught her what it meant to lie.

Kyle turned and started up the Hometree as he touched the collar he had around his neck. "Norm…give me thirty seconds…then pull me out…"

"You got it…" Norm said over the comm-link without question.

Kyle climbed up the Hometree until he reached where his avatar was usually placed over night, next to where Ralu slept, and climbed in, sealing the net-like plant shut. He laid there for a moment and glanced at the netting that Ralu normally slept in.

"I'm sorry…" Kyle whispered before he closed his eyes, forcing his avatar to sleep.

Next time Kyle opened his eyes, Norm's blurred figure came into focus.

"Hey…you ok?"

Kyle stretched out. "Yep…all here…"

"What happened? You usually don't disconnect till night time…" Norm said out of friendly concern.

"Deverneil's men…killed one of the Na'vi today…Jala…" Kyle explained, sliding off of the pod.

"Jala…you mean Ralu's…"

"Intended?" Kyle turned to Norm. "You knew?"

"There were rumors…" Norm shrugged. "But damn it! I was hoping that maybe if we fought them your way we could've swept past with no loses…I thought it was a really great idea…"

Kyle gave a bitter laugh. "Well…we can't win them all can we…" He clapped Norm on the arm. "But we will win this in the end."

Norm chuckled too. "I hope so…how 'bout you?" Kyle looked curiously at Norm. "How you holding up…?"

Kyle gave him a hallow smile. _"Oel_ _kam__äng__e…"_ With that, Kyle headed to the adjacent room, leaving Norm standing there.

"Kamänge…you See…but you don't like it…"

An hour later, down below in the Hometree, the Na'vi were finishing their funeral ceremony, consisting of the actual burial, a song for the departed, and prayer. Ralu was among the last to hang around the grave.

_ "Jala Eywa ngahu…" _She whispered one last goodbye before standing up. "I'm sorry you had to see that side of me again…I just…" Ralu turned around to find that she was rather alone. "Kyle…? Kyle? Where did you go?" Ralu ran into the main entrance of the Hometree to fine Ryan and Ryder together, Ryder apparently arguing into her comm-link.

"You know you could've told him, Norm…or us! How could you know and still let it happen?"

"Calm down Ryder…he didn't think it'd matter…" Ryan said, trying to get Ryder to settle down, but in the end all it seemed to do was fire her up some more.

"Calm down?! Do you know how much shit this puts Kyle in?! And I'm talking beyond the dead Na'vi…this was his idea and I think he made the right choice in getting out of dodge…"

"Then why yell at Norm? It's not like he planned this…" Ryan frowned.

"Half of it is…! He could've at least mentioned-Ralu!" Ryder started but had noticed Ralu listening in. "What-"

"I am sorry…" Ralu said quickly. "I just wanted to know where Kyle was…was he not at the ceremony?"

"Where have you been looking?!" Ryder snapped, her eyes oddly cold towards Ralu. She pointed up towards the top of Hometree and the area where the Na'vi slept. "He already disconnected."

"Disconnected…?! But why? I thought he was with me the whole time! Why didn't he at least say something?!" Ralu asked, clearly agitated.

"I wonder…!" Ryder hissed.

Ralu frowned and snapped in retaliation. "I do not like your attitude, toktor…I merely want to know where my Kyle-"

"'Your'?!" Ryder repeated, letting out a cold laugh and touched her communicator again. "Kyle…fifty secs…pull me up…"

"Yes ma'am…" Kyle's voice replied cheerfully.

"Kyle!" Ralu made for Ryder's communicator but Ryder caught her wrist with surprising strength for a simple scientist. "What do you think you are doing?!"

"I could ask you the same thing…!" Ryder hissed. "Intended?! Honestly?!"

Stunned, Ralu didn't even move as Ryder swung her arm aside and sprinted up the Hometree. After a moment, she seemed to come back to her senses and let out a lowly growl and started up the Hometree too, but up to where the Ikran nested instead of the sleeping section. But just then, Ryan grabbed her wrist too.

"Unhand me!" Ralu snapped.

"And where do you think you're going?" Ryan asked. His voice wasn't cold, his facial expression wasn't stern, and nothing about him was in any shape accusatory like Ryders, but nevertheless his grip was firm.

"To find my Kyle!" Ralu hissed, trying to pull her wrist from Ryan's grip.

"Think about it Ralu…he left without telling you…meaning he probably didn't want you to follow him…I think it's best if you just leave them alone for a while…let things…settle down…" Ryan said softly, gently releasing Ralu's wrist before touching his own collar. "Give me thirty…"

"Aye aye, capi-ton…"

Ryan gave a soft chuckle as he leapt up the Hometree. "Dumbass…"

Ralu was left standing there, once again alone and completely confused. The only thing that registered was two things. One, that for some reason her Kyle didn't wish to see her, and two, people were talking how she was intended to someone.

_"Ralu!" _Ralu turned to see a couple of Na'vi at the entrance of Hometree. _"Ayoe set terareion! Nga neu za'u?"_

Ralu glanced up at the resting section of the Hometree. She wanted to be with Kyle, not hunting…but seeing as Kyle didn't want to be with her…

_"Oel tayarängon…"_ Ralu said, catching up with the other hunters, one of them handing her a bow and quiver.

**Eywa,**

** I am confused and lost and torn. Today Jala was killed by the Sky people while he hunt. After my brother's death, Jala was the closest person to me. Seeing him dead…I do not think much can make me sadder. Except…**

** My Kyle…disappeared today. He left his Dream-walker body and returned to**** Iknimaya without telling me. He didn't even attend Jala's ceremony…I do not know why he would leave and not tell me, but it appears that he does not wish to see me either. Did I do something I am not supposed to? Is my Kyle angered with me and for what reason? I had wished to have him join me in evening hunt but…he did not return…not yet... I want to go see him, but Ryan says I shouldn't and I do not understand why.**

**Toktor Ryder seems very mad at me, saying that I was intended to someone. I do not see how being intended can be a bad thing, but Tokto Ryder was definitely not happy about it. I do not know how she found out, I had not told anyone except for Eywa…but if she knows then why is that bad? Is it because…is it because toktor Ryder and Kyle…?!**

**Eywa please help me…I do not know what to do! I wish to be with my Kyle but my Kyle leave me…I wish for Kyle to be happy but is it impossible if I am with him?! I wish that toktor Ryder is happy…but does that mean I can't be with my Kyle?! What is this feeling I feel inside of me? The pain when I think of toktor Ryder with my Kyle?! Is it not possible for everyone to be happy? Is it not possible for the Sky People to leave Na'vi alone? Why can I not find peace in my chest?! Must I suffer with no comfort?!**

**Eywa…please guide me!**


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, few things before this starts. I got couple requests asking for Na'vi-to-English translations. Even though it's already pretty much explained what is said in the next line I've decided to humor you guys and added translations at the bottom. Some of you might have also noticed that my grammer isn't that great...it's sad to say but I am a very bad proofreader...so I'm sorry if some things are worded weirdly...as long as the message is given and you understand what I'm getting at I guess that's ok...Now everything else I wanted to say is lost somewhere in the recess of my mind so let's get on with it. Remember Read and Review!

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Chapter 5

**Video Log entry thirteen: 12/14/2154**

** It's been a couple days since I've gone down to the Homethree…been a couple days since I've seen Ralu…I miss her, yes, but I'm a little afraid of what she'll say once I go back… I know I have to face her some day and accept the truth, but that doesn't mean I can't hide from it until if comes… I mean, I just need time to right myself. I still want to learn, and Ralu will always be my teacher, but losing her intended…I think I should give her some space. If she really needed to see me before I'm ready, she knows where to find me…**

** It's not exactly boring in the outpost either. I can watch Norm and Ryder do their experiments or go outside to "get some fresh air" and do some image training. It's not the best solution but at least this way I don't forget everything Ralu has taught me. Ryan stays in his avatar like before but Ryder seems to be jumping in and out, going down to get some samples from somewhere or some data from something and then coming back up to study them. I asked her why she doesn't just make Norm do all the studying and she just stay in her avatar to find the samples and data…I'm still waiting for her to give me a reason… I'm not complaining though, Ryder makes nice company. I'm glad to have her around.**

** Ryan, now, keeps an eye on the Na'vi for us more than anything. He says they're really mad at the humans at Hell's Gate and I don't blame them. But I hope they don't do anything stupid…especially Ralu… A lot of the People want blood but if they attack Hell's Gate it'll be their blood on the ground…not the humans… Jake has them under control for now…but I don't know for how long…**

** Video Log entry thirteen: Completed**

"Wake up!"

Kyle received a rather rude awakening as Ryder threw a pillow at his face and shouted in his ear.

"Must you?!" Kyle yelped sitting up on his bunk.

"No, but your reaction sure is funny…" Ryder laughed, only to get hit in the face with her own pillow.

"What do you want, Ryder…?" Kyle moaned, laying back down.

"Your help?" Ryder rested her chin on her arms, which were crossed and laying on top of Kyle's bunk. "I want to get some more samples from the Warbonnet that Ryan found last time…but it's really far from Hometree…"

"Then ask Ryan to take you…"

"He's out with the other hunters…" Kyle shot her a look when he realized what she was asking of him. "You don't have to go see Ralu… I'll go first and make sure no one is there and you can come in and get us out of there before anyone sees us…Kyle please…?"

Kyle groaned and got back up, his legs dangling off the side of his bunk.

"Thanks so much! I'll go tell Norm to start up the pods." Ryder tossed her pillow onto the bunk below Kyle and ran out the room.

About ten minutes later, Kyle's avatar opened its eyes.

"You alright in there?" Ryder asked from overhead, her avatar's tail swaying back and forth behind her.

"Yeah…" Kyle opened his netting and climbed out, stretching his very stiff limbs.

"You're probably really hungry, so I got some food that we can eat when we get there." Ryder said, holding up a basket with food in it, much like the one Ralu had a month ago.

"Thanks," Kyle smiled, his stomach aching from hunger. "I'll go get Änsìt and meet you outside." He grabbed a piece of meat from Ryder's basket, stuck it in his mouth, and leapt off the branch they were standing on, grabbing onto a vine, and slid down to the bottom.

Ryder peered over the side Kyle just leapt off of. "I think I'll take the stairs…" With that, Ryder ran down and out of the Hometree, waiting for Kyle.

As she waited, a female Na'vi caught her eye and Ryder waved, just as Kyle arrived riding Änsìt, the piece of meat he took already half done, and a bow and quiver on his back.

Ryder looked at the direhorse in front of her. She never actually ridden a direhorse before and was now having second thoughts. "Uh, Kyle…I don't know about this…"

"You don't trust me?" Kyle asked, holding out a hand for Ryder.

Ryder hesitantly took his hand and climbed onto Änsìt. "You better not let me fall!"

Kyle laughed. "Then hold on tight!"

Ryder flung her arms around Kyle as they started to ride off.

The Na'vi that Ryder had waved to watched them ride off and then ran into the Hometree.

_"Ralu!"_ The Na'vi ran through the Hometree and found Ralu with a bunch of Na'vi children. _"Ralu! __Ngeyä __uniltìranyu za__ol__'u ne'im! Poan hu toktor Ryder hum!"_ (1)

Ralu immediately dashed off. If Kyle really was here, she had to see him. If she did indeed do something wrong, she had to apologize, no matter what it was. If there was something special between Kyle and Ryder, she had to know what it was.

In a forest clearing several miles from the Hometree, Ryder was kneeling in front of a Warbonnet collecting samples and Kyle was leaning against a tree behind her, eating his fill from the basket that Ryder brought.

"Why are you still studying those? I thought the guys back at Hell's Gate got it all studied already…" Kyle asked, biting into the pumpkin sized berry he held.

"Well they do…but I don't have the data and I can't really go asking them for it now can I?" Ryder replied, not bothering to turn around.

"Touché…" Kyle held up the berry, as if toasting Ryder.

Ryder looked over her shoulder and saw Kyle holding up the berry and laughed. "You look so stupid like that…" She stood up, tucking her samples into the pouch around her waist. "Alright, that's it."

"Ok, let's-" Kyle stopped suddenly, his ears twitching slightly, trying to pick up sound.

"Kyle? What's wro-?" Then Ryder heard it too, a soft rustling coming from a bush not too far from them.

Kyle got up and took the bow off his back. He pulled out an arrow and set it on the bow, pulling it back and aiming it at the bushes. After a moment, a viperwolf leapt out of the bushes and ran past them.

"A viperwolf! Oh I wish I could study it…"

"You want it?" Kyle asked, his bow still aimed at the fleeing viperwolf.

"Alive…yes…" Ryder looked pointedly at Kyle's arrow, which was laced with poison.

"That I can't help you with then…" Kyle said, relaxing his bow.

"Why didn't it attack us though? I thought viperwolves were aggressive…" Ryder asked.

"Viperwolves only hunt in packs. If they're alone or outnumbered they'll avoid contact." Kyle explained.

"I see…" Ryder's eyes fell on Kyle's bow. "Can I…try that?"

Kyle looked down to see what Ryder was pointing to. "My bow?" Ryder nodded and Kyle held it out for her.

Ryder took it, along with the arrow still on it. She held it up and pulled the arrow back.

"Hold up…" Kyle said quickly, moving directly behind Ryder, placing his hands on hers, and instructing her on what to do.

Unseen or heard by either of them, Ralu had appeared above and behind them. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Kyle standing so close to Ryder that they were almost touching, his hands resting on hers as he explained what to do to her. Ralu felt a sharp pain in her heart as she watched the two together. Feeling that she had made a terrible mistake, Ralu turned tail and ran.

As soon as Ralu left, Ryder pushed against Kyle with her tail. "Too close…I'm not Ralu you know…"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kyle asked, backing up slightly.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Ryder asked instead.

Kyle's mouth fell open, as if stunned. "You were the one getting all mad at her, not me!"

"Yeah, because I thought it was wrong of her not to tell you she was already intended to someone." Ryder explained. "But you're so head-over-heels about her you should at least go sort it out with her."

"I don't want things to be awkward between us…"

Ryder rolled her eyes. "Whatever… I'm not a psychologist so what do I know…" Ryder switched her grip, the palm of the hand on the string of the bow facing herself as opposed to facing away from her like the Na'vi hold their bow and released the arrow, sending it into the exact center of the trunk of a tree.

Ralu ran all the way back to the Hometree, and kept running until she ran headlong into someone that was standing in the entrance.

_ "Rä'ä tsatseng kllkxem!"_ Ralu hissed, looking up to see who she had hit. It was Ryan. (2)

"Careful, Ralu…you could hurt someone…" Ryan said, helping Ralu up.

"I am sorry…" Ralu mumbled, taking Ryan's hand and standing up. Then after a moment, "Can I ask you something?"

"Is it about Kyle?"

Ralu gave an annoyed growl, making Ryan laugh. "Actually it is about Kyle and toktor Ryder… Do they…have feelings for one another?"

"Are you jealous?" Ryan grinned slightly, causing Ralu to scowl at him. "I think Kyle may see Ryder as more than a simple colleague but nothing more than a friend…" Ralu gave a sigh of relief. "What brought that up?"

"I saw them near group of Eyaye together…they seemed close…"

"Looks can be deceiving…" Ryan shrugged. "I wouldn't put too much thought into it…" When Ralu still didn't look convinced, Ryan sighed. "Why don't you just talk to him? Doesn't all this worrying get tiring? Just talk to him and maybe you can find out what's wrong and how you can fix things between you two…"

"Can you not help?! You obviously know what is going on…!"

Ryan shook his head. "I don't. I'm only saying that whatever you do you should at least understand both sides first…Plus if I helped that would be cheating…it's not my love life afterall…"

Ralu narrowed her eyes. "Do you honestly believe that?"

"No…but you might…" Ralu continued to glare at him. "No?"

"No…" Ralu hissed. Seeing that Ryan would be of no further comfort, Ralu pushed past him only to be stopped again.

_"Ralu!__ Ngaru_ _lu_ _fpom_ _srak?" _(3)

Ralu stopped in time to see a Na'vi land in front of her. Immediately she recognized him as the one that had spoke ill of Kyle several days ago.

"Amhul! What do you want?!" Ralu hissed.

"Forcing me to speak in Sky people tongue once more?" Amhul sighed. "I merely to see that you were well…your brother and I were friends and in turn you were my friend too."

"One, I did not ask you to watch over me nor do I want you to, and two, we WERE friends, Amhul. But when you speak ill of those I am close to I will not forgive…" Ralu growled, her voice low and menacing.

"You even speak like Sky people…the same Sky people you disliked not too long ago." Amhul said, his voice stern and eyes narrowed.

"Things change…" Ralu murmured. "The Dream-walkers here are my friends, those who would not betray the People."

"They have blinded you, Ralu!" Amhul snarled, waving his hand at Ryan, who had yet to say anything. "Do you not remember what Sky people done to your brother?! To Jala?! And still they prevent us from striking back!"

"Let me just stop you right there…" Ryan sighed. "You can do whatever you want, we're not stopping you from doing anything. We're just suggesting that you don't throw your lives away by attacking Hell's Gate. There's a reason we call it Hell's Gate and that's because to use it is a gateway to Hell…"

"What is 'Hell'?" Ralu asked curiously.

"It's where a spirit goes if Eywa deems them unworthy to join her." Ryan explained, leaving Ralu and Amhul slightly wide eyed, as if the thought of not joining Eywa was impossible. "Not only does a spirit not join Eywa, but the spirit is tortured for the rest of time… Pandora to us humans is hell, except without the spiritual sense. We die in minutes if we come to Pandora without proper equipment. Everything, even the plants, want us dead. When we get to Hell's Gate we're facing almost certain death. But there's another purpose for Hell's Gate and that's keeping the 'Demons' from escaping into our human world and killing us. It is designed to keep the indigenous out…including the Na'vi. You attack Hell's Gate and I assure you there will be many deaths, and I'm not talking about the humans.

"Even with death of many, we will still be victorious," Amhul said proudly.

"I do not doubt you." Ryan said, slightly impatient. "I agree that the Na'vi are superior to humans. But is the deaths of countless worth a small victory until more humans come in the next drop? One Na'vi can easily take on multiple humans until they get tired and eventually fall. But place that human into an AMP and the position is reversed." When Ryan saw Amhul was not about to give up he decided to change tactics. "How will those who did not fight feel about the deaths of hundreds of brothers and sisters? How would you feel if you made it back and Ralu didn't?"

"Why me?" Ralu frowned.

"You haven't noticed?" Ryan looked from Amhul to Ralu. "Why do you think he's trying so hard to get you to hate the humans you've grown fond of? Who got you to change your views and what has he become to you?"

_ "Fnu!"_ Amhul hissed. (4)

Ralu snapped at Amhul, getting him to fall silent, letting Ryan continue as she started to piece together what he was getting at.

"Why has he become so caring to you after Jala died? Why did he get Kyle to leave when you were crying over Jala?"

"You what?!" Ralu snarled at Amhul.

"Why would one excellent warrior and hunter do such things for someone of equal status and opposite gender?" Ryan finished bluntly.

_"Ralu…tslam rutxe…"_ Amhul said under the death glare of Ralu. (5)

_ "Amhul kawkrr __taying txoa__ oe __…"_ Ralu hissed. (6)

_ "Ayfo nga laoltängern! Rutxe kame!"_ Amhul shouted. (7)

Ralu took a swipe at Amhul, making him recoil in pain as drops of blood hit the floor. Ryan ran forward to hold Ralu back.

_ "Oe ngati kamänge…"_ Ralu hissed, flecks of blood falling from her nails as she struggled against Ryan's grip. (7)

Amhul pulled his hand away from his face to examine the blood and revealed three long, deep cuts on his eye, reaching from his forehead to his cheek. He heard murmuring behind him and he saw a small crowd had begun for form. They were all glaring at the cuts on his eye. For another Na'vi to inflict physical pain and visible marks on the body, specifically the face, by use of their own body meant disgrace or betrayal.

"You think of only yourself, Amhul…" Ralu hissed. "When you think of nothing but yourself you do not think for the People, therefore you are not one of the People…"

"You have no right to judge!" Amhul shouted.

"But I do…" Everyone looked up to see Mo'at and Neytiri descending the Hometree.

_ "Tsahik…oe-"_

Mo'at held up a hand to silence Ralu. "I heard everything…Amhul, to have intentionally try to profit from another's death and betray friend's trust for your own gain…Ralu was right to mark…"

_ "Tsahik!"_

"Be quiet, Amhul!" Neytiri growled. "She is no longer your Tsahik, and you are no longer part of the People..."

Amhul stood there, stunned at his own sentencing. When it finally started to settle in, Amhul turned on the spot and started to walk, his hands clenched tightly and teeth gritted. Everyone watched the now exiled Na'vi disappear into the forest.

"How are you…?" Mo'at placed a gentle hand on Ralu's shoulder once Ryan released her.

"I am fine, Tsahik…" Ralu mumbled, clenching her hands, the blood on her nails smearing on her palm. "I never thought that Amhul would do this…"

"I had seen Amhul's sense of selfishness for a long while…" Mo'at said with a small nod. "But even this I did not foresee…"

"I feel lost, Tsahik…" Ralu said quietly. "I am losing everyone I hold close…"

"You still have your friends, Na'vi and Dream-walker…" Mo'at nodded to Ryan. When Ralu remained unconvinced Mo'at continued. "And you still have Kyle…"

"Forgive me, Tsahik…but I believe Kyle was lost to me long ago…" Ralu murmured.

"You have a strong body and strong heart…but weak mind," Mo'at scolded. "You fail to see past the surface and understand!"

"Then how do I understand?" Ralu asked, slightly frustrated.

"You learn…" Mo'at said simply, and nodded her head towards the entrance to the Hometree.

Ralu looked up, as did Ryan out of curiosity, and saw Kyle walking in with Ryder. It hurt Ralu to see Kyle with Ryder but if what Ryan said was true she needn't worry. Ralu still didn't know what caused Kyle to not want to see her, but for whatever the reason she had to apologize. She ran over to the two avatars, stopping them in their tracks.

"Ralu…"

Ralu hung her head. "Kyle…I-"

"I'm sorry…"

Ralu blinked and looked up. "What…?"

"I'm sorry…" Kyle repeated. "I was stupid and should have known better…I made a mistake and I promise I won't do it again. If you allow, I wish to stay with you and continue to learn from you…"

Ralu smiled. "I ask for nothing more…" Ralu was overjoyed. She had been wrong; Kyle wished to remain with her. She did her best to resist the temptation to fling herself into his arms, something she reserved only for when they were alone. She couldn't wait to get things back into motion with Kyle. "Shall we hunt?"

"Sure," Kyle said with a nod.

"Ryan! Come join!" Ralu ran over to Ryan and started to pull on his arm.

"But I just got back from a hunt…" Ryan complained as Ralu pulled him and Kyle outside, leaving Ryder there alone.

Ryder watched the three leave and then walked outside too. But instead of going into the forest like the others, she headed to the training field. She walked to the archery field and pulled Kyle's bow, which he had left with her, off of herself and pulled a spare arrow out of the ground. She fitted the arrow onto the bow and pulled back. She closed her eyes, the ghost of the feeling of Kyle almost embracing her, his hands on hers and chest to her back, still residing on her body.

Suddenly she felt something nudge her in the back and she turned around to find herself face to face with Änsìt. Ryder relaxed the bow in her hands and ran a hand down Änsìt's back.

"So you were left behind too…?" Ryder asked, continuing to pet Änsìt. Then she turned back around and pulled the bow back once more, remembering the feeling of Kyle standing behind her as a tear started to fall down her cheek. "Idiots…all of them…"

**Personal Log Seventy-Nine: 12/15/2154**

** After Deverneil arrived on Pandora, it seems the Na'vi are starting to lose their members left and right. About half a week ago one of their hunters were killed by a scouting party. The hunter, Jala, was very close to Ralu. It seems like a lot of people thought that they were intended. I, who has a hard time believing rumors, have yet to know if that's true or not. She's certainly upset with losing someone so close to her, refusing to join in the celebration of Jala's life, but she doesn't seem broken enough to be someone who had lost their intended. Unfortunately Kyle and the others seem to believe the rumors.**

** Kyle ended up not going back down for a while, staying up here in the outpost with Norm and Ryder. Speaking of which, Ryder started to spend more time up in the outpost with Kyle. I'm starting to wonder about her… I didn't know too much about her before Deverneil arrived but now that we're spending more time together she doesn't seem to be one to go too much out of her way to help someone, like me or Norm, but Kyle seems to be an exception. But I don't want to jump to any conclusions just yet.**

** The other Na'vi we lost was another one of Ralu's old friends, Amhul. He didn't die but because I had noticed his unyielding interest in Ralu, jumping up to help her as soon as Jala died and pushing Kyle out of the picture, Mo'at had deemed his selfish acts not one to be tolerated and pretty much exiled him. I don't think they should've gone that far but it's the Na'vi's call, not mine. In anycase I don't think this is the last time we're going to hear from him…**

** Personal Log Seventy-Nine: Complete**

* * *

Translations:

(1). _"Ralu! Ngeyä uniltìranyu zaol'u ne'im! Poan hu toktor Ryder hum!"_

"Ralu! Your Dream-walker came back! He left with doctor Ryder!"

(2). _"Rä'ä tsatseng kllkxem!"_

"Do not stand there!"

(3). _"Ralu! Ngaru_ _lu_ _fpom_ _srak?" _

"Ralu! Are you well?"

(4). _"Fnu!"_

"Be quiet!"

(5). _"Ralu…tslam rutxe…"_

"Ralu...please understand..."

(6). _"Amhul kawkrr __taying txoa oe …"_

"I will never give forgiveness to Amhul..."

(7). _"Ayfo nga laoltängern! Rutxe kame!"_

"They changed you! Please See!" Laoltängern is a negative version__ of the word "changed" so you can also view it as "corrupted


	6. Chapter 6

I apologize for the length of this chapter. This is one of those times that I really wish the story could be seen in the sense of something visual rather than read. But seeing as doing that is not possible I hope you can forgive me when I say I do not feel this has been my best chapter. All in all...it moves the story forward so...yeah...I still hope you all like it. Also I would like to say this again, I have school and unfortunately fanfiction is not the only thing in my life so I apologize in advance if I don't update as often as you like or the contents isn't as filled and fluffy as you like but I'm trying. Other than that, read and review please.

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Chapter 6

**Video Log entry fourteen: 12/23/2154**

**It's been a week since I started training with Ralu again and it does feel nice to get back into the motion of things. Not to be taken the wrong way though, I enjoyed spending time with Norm and Ryder here in the outpost, but the lab life just isn't me. But even if hunting and training give me a more fulfilled feeling, it's not complete.**

**I told Ralu that I wanted to stay and train with her but the thought of Jala still sits in my mind. I heard about what Amhul did and I know he told me about Ralu and Jala just to get me to leave Ralu's side but I can't help feeling the need to give her space. It's hard to be with the one you love almost all day and yet have to resist the urge to just hold her. Ralu started out happy that we were hunting and training together again, which is probably a good sign saying that I'm still in her heart somewhere, but lately she's been getting less enthusiastic about everything. I asked her if anything was wrong and she said everything was fine so I just let her be.**

**Ralu's not the only one either. Ryder's mood has been a rollercoaster ride too. She's always trying to cheer me up when I start getting worked up over Ralu, but when I ask her why she goes through such lengths to help me, she calls me an idiot and storms off. Ryan's no help, always being that passive observer that knows everything that's going on but never tells anyone. I swear he knows what's bugging Ralu AND Ryder but he keeps saying he doesn't. It must be nice to be able to see everyone's hand…**

**Video Log entry fourteen: Complete**

"Are you sure?"

"With no doubt. You'll find them there…all three Sky-people."

"And what's to say you're not lying?"

"What is there to gain if I lie? You get Sky people traitors and I watch those I hate die…There is no reason for me to lie…"

There was a moment's silence. "Alright. If your information is correct I promise no harm will come to your people…That is what you want right?"

"Yes…"

"Then we have a deal…By the way…what happened to your face…? Doesn't seem like it was done by my men…"

"If you promise no harm comes to Na'vi it make no difference. I become one who stop Sky-people hurting Na'vi and my scar mean nothing…"

"Pretty sneaky of you…I like that…"

-

Deep in the forest, Ralu and Kyle scaled the treetops until they were overlooking a heard of hexapede. Ralu and Kyle both took aim with their bows and pulled the arrow back. As Ralu aimed, she heard Kyle muttering to himself. As Ralu listened, she clearly made out the prayer given to the Na'vi's game.

"You're saying prayer already?!" Ralu hissed, making sure her voice didn't carry to the hexapede.

Kyle continued anyways, and as soon as he finished, he let his arrow fly. Ralu watched as the arrow hit one of the hexapede in the side. It gave a loud cry of pain and then fell, motionless. Unfortunately the hexapede's cry had alerted the others and they all started to run. Ralu quickly raised her bow and fired an arrow at one of the fleeing hexapede, hitting it in the thigh. Ralu leapt down from the three and rushed over to the crying, wounded beast. Quickly saying her prayer, Ralu stabbed it with her knife, killing it. As she replaced her knife in the sheath on her chest, Ralu looked up to see Kyle walking up to her with his kill on his shoulder.

"I am very impressed Kyle…" Ralu smiled up at him and standing up. "How did you know you would kill it in with one arrow?"

"I did what you taught me," Kyle said simply, but slightly proud. "I trusted in myself and remembered my training."

Ralu blushed slightly at the thought that Kyle had remembered her words exactly from a while ago.

"Come on…let's head back…" Kyle said, nodding his head in the direction of the Hometree.

"Oh…alright…" Both Ralu's blush and smile disappeared. This was one of the rare times of day that both she and Kyle were alone together, one of the only times Ralu would allow a full embrace, rather than a simple nudge on the forehead. But for the past week, Kyle had yet to do either. It cheered Ralu up greatly when Kyle had said he wanted to stay with her. He had even wanted to train more, Ralu interpreting that to mean he wished to become an _Ikran Makto_ as soon as possible for her. But now she was wondering if she had interpreted his words wrong.

Kyle noticed that Ralu had yet to move from where she killed her hexapede, instead she just stood there with her head hung low. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Ralu didn't want to ask, she hated having the need to ask, but she had to know for sure. "Kyle…do you still love me…?"

"…What…?" It took Kyle a moment to process what Ralu had asked. "Ralu…what brought this up?"

"Answer me!" Ralu shouted.

"More than anything, Ralu…but…"

"But what?!" Ralu hated forcing Kyle to answer like this but she needed to know. "Is it toktor Ryder?"

"Wait, what?" Kyle was, needless to say, confused. What did Ryder have to do with if he loved Ralu?

"I have seen how she looks at you, with those Sky-people eyes? She hides it from you but I can see!"

"Sky-people eyes…?" Kyle repeated, trying to figure out what Ralu was saying. "Wait…are you saying that Ryder…Look that doesn't even matter! I love you, Ralu, I always have!"

"Then why do you refuse to look at me like you used to, refuse to so much as touch me? Why do you no longer See me?!"

"I do See you, Ralu and I do love you! It's just that with Jala's death still pretty fresh in out minds…"

"Jala?" It was Ralu's turn to be taken-aback and confused. "What does Jala have to do with anything? Why does everyone mention Jala?!"

"You don't have to pretend anymore, Ralu…I know that you and Jala were intended, that he had asked you shortly after I arrived here…"

"I was intended with Jala…?" Ralu stood there for several seconds in silence. Then, _"Skxawng!"_

Ralu's shout surprised Kyle to say the least, but what was heard after surprised them both.

"Whoa…a little foul language there?"

The two of them spun around to see an AMP standing behind them, it's GAU-90 pointing right at them.

"Now don't stop on my account," the pilot grinned. "It was just getting interesting. Just pretend I'm not here…"

In a flash, both Kyle and Ralu had their bows aimed at the AMP cockpit. They only had a vague curiosity on how such a large machine could sneak up on them without either of them noticing. The only thing that really mattered was that there was a big threat in front of them.

"Hey…aren't you that Avatar operating soldier?" The pilot asked Kyle, pointing his GAU-90 at him.

"He's dead…" Kyle lied, remembering Ryder's decision to crash the Samson.

"Not from what we heard." The pilot smirked. "We had a little tip saying the operators were in the floating mountains. Let's just say you're about to be brought back to reality very soon."

"You're bluffing…" Kyle growled.

"Go see for yourself then," the pilot laughed, firing his GAU-90.

Kyle felt at least two bullets entering his chest. Pain flared and instantly, Kyle's avatar fell unconscious.

Back in his pod, Kyle's eyes snapped open. He could still feel the pain of the bullets flying through his chest and the feeling made him feel sick. But he didn't have time to worry about that, he had to make sure Ralu was still ok. He opened his pod and rolled out of it, the ghost of the bullets still in his chest, making him disoriented. He hit the floor on all fours and was about to get up when he heard a gun cocking near his head, making him freeze.

"Rise and shine…" the owner of the gun said, in a sing-song voice. "Sorry to disturb your sleep…but it's time to wake up. Now get up…!"

Placing his hands on his head, Kyle got to his feet. He glared at the sneering face of his attacker before turning so his back was facing him. Looking around the lab, Kyle found it completely empty, which meant that Ryder and Ryan were probably already captured. Norm, operating outside his avatar again, was probably still at the Hometree.

"Come on…I don't have all day…Start walking." The soldier behind Kyle said, jabbing Kyle in the back with the barrel of his gun.

Kyle did as he was told, walking out of the room.

"You know that show with the Samson was pretty good." The soldier said casually, walking behind Kyle, keeping his gun pointed at his back. "It would've worked too if we didn't get that tip from one of your little alien friends…"

Kyle was barely listening, trying to find some way to escape. He looked down at the table they were passing and saw his M60 laying there. Kyle made his decision in a split second. While his attacker was talking, Kyle quickly reached for the gun, grabbing it by the barrel and swung it around, the butt of the gun hitting the soldier in the side of the head, knocking him out. Making sure that his attacker was knocked out, Kyle ran for the hallway. He had to make sure everyone was still ok. But just as he crossed the doorway, Kyle was met with an arm that hit him across the chest, making him flip over and land on his back. He looked up to see himself face to face with the barrel of a shotgun.

"You really think there was only one of us?" The second soldier laughed, kicking Kyle's M60 away.

He pulled Kyle to his feet and pushed him along. They reached the exit where Kyle put on an Exo-pack, the soldier already wearing one, and they went outside to see 2 SA-2 Samsons waiting for them. Inside one of them sat Ryder and Ryan. The soldier pushed Kyle towards the other Samson and sat him down roughly, binding his hands as he sat down. Both Samsons took off a moment later, flying them all back to Hell's Gate.

-

At the Hometree, a crowd had begun to gather at the base. Two avatars, Ryan's and Ryder's, were laying side by side, surrounded by a small crowd. There was no doubt as to what was going on but the question was, what were they to do next.

"_Olo'eyktan_, if they found _uniltìranyu_ on _Iknimaya_ then they are in trouble! We need to go after them!"

"They will come after us next, once they find _Kelutrel_ like they did before!"

Jake sighed, looking at the two unconscious avatars. He didn't want to lead his people into almost certain death but he also wanted to help out his new friends and allies. "Where's Kyle?"

"He is out hunting with Ralu…"

"We have to find him first. If Kyle's in the same situation, leaving his avatar out there will only endanger Ralu in the end…We're going to need everyone ready if we're going to try anything."

"No need…" a Na'vi pointed at the forest, where two Na'vi and direhorses were coming out.

Jake looked up to see Ralu riding towards him, Kyle's avatar lying in front of her.

"_Olo'eyktan_, you must help!" Ralu cried, almost falling off of her direhorse in her haste to dismount. "Kyle was hit by Sky-people weapons…he will not wake up but I do not think he is with Eywa yet…!"

A group of Na'vi lifted Kyle's avatar off of Ralu's direhorse and set it beside Ryan and Ryder's as Norm ran over to check on its condition.

"It is happening again, right?" Ralu asked, looking at Jake.

"Yeah…" Jake nodded. "But I'm sure we all know where Kyle and the others are being taken."

"Then we must help them!" Ralu cried. She couldn't believe that all this had to happen just as she had started trying to work things out between her and Kyle. "They could be in danger!"

"Calm down, Ralu, going in there without a plan first will get, not only us, but maybe the others killed. I know how you feel but you must be patient." Jake said comforting. "I'm sure they're fine right now but if we rush in there the other humans may do something drastic too. We have to do this carefully."

Ralu gave a odd mix between a snarl and a whimper before turning to Norm. "Will his _uniltìranyu_ be alright?"

"The bullets went through and the wounds will heal. It's not life threatening, I don't think." Norm said, looking into the bullet wounds. "Luckily it missed all the important stuff…mainly just flesh and meat. I'm sure the shock just knocked him out of the link…that's what happened to me before."

"So it will be ok?"

"It'll take time without anything from the lab…but it should heal, yes." Norm said with a nod.

"Well there's nothing more we can do for them…" Jake said, looking at the avatars. "The _lungoray_ will look after them. In anyways we have to get ready. Norm how much do you know about Hell's Gate's design…?"

**Eywa,**

**It has been decided that tomorrow we attack the Sky-people, something that I have been waiting for for a very long time. But now it is not because I dislike the Sky-people. They had taken my Kyle away from me and for that I will not forgive them. It will be very dangerous for us but if I can rescue my Kyle then I will take any risk. ****Olo'eyktan believes that if we use the Ikran we may be able to get into Hell's Gate easily and without much trouble. Many of us have decided to go and fight the Sky-people at Hell's Gate. I can only pray to you that we all return safely. The lungoray will tend to Kyle's uniltìranyu, meaning I do not have to worry about that, which relieves me.**

**I had been wrong about my Kyle…I believe in his words that he does not see toktor Ryder as one would a loved one but he still believes I am intended with Jala. I do not know how he thought I was intended with Jala so I must explain to him. All this hardship because of a misunderstanding. If only this small problem had been avoided or solved I would feel better but now I know I cannot fail. I must find my Kyle and tell him the truth.**

**Deverneil will pay for all the pain she has brought the People, I only hope that I can be the one to see that her wrong has been righted. If it had not been for her, I do not think any of this would have happened.**

**I pray to you, Eywa, for strength to rescue my Kyle. I pray to you to make sure that we return home safely. Kyle was right, I do not want to see any more of the People join you before it is their time. I just want this all to end.**

**Eywa, please guide my hands…**

* * *

Ok, one last thing I want to put out there. I know some of you will be like "How did Ralu escape/kill/destroy the AMP?". I know it's not said in this chapter, but I want to save it for when everyone is back together. You know...the good old annoy flashbacks. XD


	7. Chapter 7

This would've gone up yesterday but the site was being a butt...so you get it today. A couple things that I want to point out before we start. A lot of people have been asking me where I get my Na'vi from. Mainly I just use the vocab list on the Avatar wiki site. If you want to look at it simply google it and you'll find it. There's a link at the bottom of the vocab list for the Na'vi language site where I TRIED to learn about grammer and syntax so have fun with that.

Another point I want to cover is my style of using Na'vi. In short I'm not changing it anymore. I'm sorry if it inconveniences anyone but if I change it anymore to make it easier for you guys then why do it in the first place? Why spend extra effort to look up and write out the Na'vi if the English is right there next to it? Why not write it out in English and just be done with it? The way I do it currently is mainly for authenticity. I spend the extra effort to make the experience of reading this story more realistic for the reader. Like any novel or even manga that has something that a reader might not understand right away, there are footnotes to aid the reader. But it doesn't explain it in the story because it technically isn't part of it. So I repeat I will not be changing my style anymore. If you lose your place while looking up the words at the bottom there's a wonderful internet feature when you click CTRL + F.I'm sure you've all used it and understand what I mean. If you don't, try it out, it's helpful.

That's pretty much all I have to say. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. As for the normal disclaimers...I do not own Avatar...actually it's called James Cameron's Avatar which makes it clearer that it is not owned by me...my Na'vi is still elementary so if there are people who understand it and see that it is wrong, I apologize...and I hope all of you read and REVIEW this chapter.

P.S. Since it's so close and always placed at the beginning you'll notice no video log or prayer to Eywa in the beginning. GASP impossible right?! I'm sure someone will mention it so I'll just explain it now. ONE day has passed between this chapter and the last, no one that hasn't done a log or prayer is capable of doing one. If you really want to see something up there, just go to the last chapter, scroll down to the bottom, and read the one down there before reading this chapter. Problem solve.

P.S.S. No this is not the final chapter...that would suck if it was...

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Chapter 7

"Kyle, calm down…pacing back and forth so frantically like that won't solve anything. It's just making me dizzy…"

Kyle gave a frustrated groan and turned to Ryan. "Well what do you expect me to do?! Who knows what kind of situation Ralu is in right now!"

"There's NOTHING you can do about it right now!" Ryan shouted, stunning Kyle so much that he froze. "All we can do is wait for something to let us out of this cell! Before then all the worrying in the universe won't help. Once we get out we can find out about what happened to Ralu! If she's ok then you would've worried for nothing! If she's not then you're just going to end up feeling worse later on!"

"Is that supposed to comfort me?!" Kyle hissed in a surprisingly Na'vi like fashion.

"Ryan's right, Kyle…" Ryder said softly, sitting opposite to Ryan. "Besides, Ralu's really capable. She's a great hunter and a skilled warrior. She's not going down that easily."

Kyle let out a growl and kicked at the cell door in frustration, making the guard glance up for a second. Kyle glared at the guard for a moment before he felt a tugging on his shirt. He turned around to see Ryder attempting to pull him down next to her. Reluctantly, Kyle sat down.

"How did Deverneil even find out where we were? Max said that we were in the clear…" Kyle asked, whispering the second part so that the guard wouldn't hear.

"We can't assume that everyone that knows about it will keep their word. Not everyone has a reason to." Ryan said simply.

"But no one knew where we were besides Max. And I don't think he would tell anyone just in case." Ryder reasoned.

"Are you suggesting a Na'vi did it? Cause they're the only one who knew where we were."

"He's got a point Ryder…" Kyle said, slumping against the wall.

"Finally cooling off now?" Ryan smirked.

"Even if not all the Na'vi like us I don't think any of them will rat us out though…especially not to Deverneil…" Ryder commented.

"The probability of one of the Na'vi coming anywhere near Hell's Gate just to give information about us is next to impossible." Kyle frowned.

"Well…once you eliminate the possible, what ever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth…" Ryan gave a bitter laugh. Then suddenly, he froze.

"Ryan?" Ryder peered into Ryan's face, concern on her face. "You ok."

"Yeah…I'm fine…" Ryan said quietly. Ryder and Kyle looked at each other in curiosity as Ryan sat in silence. 'Amhul…'

-

Deep in the forest, a small party was traveling through the dense jungle.

"I don't see why we have to do these boring scouting rounds…" One of the soldiers complained. "We know what's out here…we should already be doing something about it!"

"These rounds are nothing to be joking about, Nathan…" An AMP pilot commented as he twisted around to get a better view of his side. "Haven't you noticed that attacks on our parties have been so frequent, you can't even recall one of them not having at least one death?"

"But it's like Nathan said," a second soldier interjected. "Instead of just looking for more Unobtainium, we should just go and kill those furry bastards and then do all the mining we want. If Deverneil seriously intends on keeping her promise to that damn animal I think I'm going to kill myself…"

"Not if they kill you first…" The pilot laughed. He turned to the first soldier, who was staring off in one direction, gun pointed in the general vicinity. "Hey Nathan…you ok?"

"Yeah…I just thought I saw something…" Nathan said, still staring off into the trees. Suddenly there was the sound of a gun cocking, a dull _thunk,_ and a soft hissing. Nathan spun around to see the second soldier facing the opposite direction. "Hey! Did you see something?!" As Nathan approached his comrade, he noticed something sticking out of the other soldier's exo-pack and the faint mist of oxygen leaking out. "Dude! You got a leak! You alright?!" Nathan placed a hand on the soldier's shoulder and suddenly the soldier fell over. Only when the soldier hit the ground did Nathan realize, to his horror, that there was a large arrow sticking out of the soldier's stomach. "FUCK!" Nathan shouted, cocking his own rifle and holding it at the ready.

"What got him?!" The pilot shouted, facing the opposite direction, turning left and right trying to find a target.

"Probably one of those damn cats!" Nathan replied. "Dammit! What do we do?!"

There was a loud crashing sound and the of shattering of glass. Nathan spun around and looked up to see a long pike sticking out of the top of the AMP, no doubt skewering the pilot that was on the other side of the AMP's body. On top of the AMP stood a large figure, the sun above it casting its features in darkness, but it was no questioning what it was. The figure took the bow from its back, along with an arrow, and pointed it at Nathan. Nathan gave a long shout and squeezed the trigger of his M60, spraying the AMP and the figure standing on top, peppering both with a rain of bullets.

Nathan only released the trigger when the figure that was standing on top of the AMP hit the floor. But as soon as his finger left the trigger, Nathan had a strange sensation that something had passed through him. The next thing he saw was total darkness, as he felt his body literally fall apart…

Behind the body stood two Na'vi, each holding a long, curved blade that was dripping with blood. One of the Na'vi placed his blade in the holster on his back and cupped his hands around his mouth, letting out a loud, high pitched, throaty call.

High in the sky, almost touching the clouds, the call was heard, but barely even with the Na'vi's sensitive ears. Ralu's ears twitched when the high pitched cry reached her.

"_Tet'su…_ _käì!"_ Ralu said, urging her Ikran forward once she had received the signal. (1)

Tet'su gave a loud cry and flapped his wings to gain speed. Behind her, Ralu could hear the flapping of several other Ikrans trying to build up speed. Ralu glanced behind herself to see at least a dozen Ikran following her, each having a Na'vi warrior mounted on it. Ralu swallowed slightly and looked ahead, going over the situation at hand.

No less than 24 hours ago, Kyle, Ryder, and Ryan were captured from their base of operations in the Hallelujah Mountains. Though there was no way to tell if they were still alive or not, if their lives were spared they would most likely be kept within Hell's Gate, which was currently Ralu's destination. This 'assault' was the straw that broke the camel's back. The original plan was to carefully pick off the human soldiers on Pandora one by one as they went through daily activities like scouting or mining. But this recent event caused many of the Na'vi to plead to Jake to allow them to take up arms. If the humans were willing to attack and capture one of their own, the Na'vi was surely next. Though Jake was reluctant, he granted permission of an attack on Hell's Gate and even thought of a battle plan for the Na'vi.

Ralu glanced back again to see her chieftain behind her, riding his own personal Ikran. It was unexpected, but that morning Jake had approached her with a surprising statement.

"I want you to be in charge of this assault…" Jake had said.

"W-what...?" Ralu was, needless to say, taken-aback. She had figured that she would be someone in the background, fighting her own fight to get to the one she cared about. But apparently Jake thought different. "_Olo'eyktan_ why me? Why not you or another warrior?"

"I…don't know…" Jake had admitted, rather lamely. "I just…have a feeling, you know? That…this is something you should do…"

"Did…did Eywa give you a sign?"

"You could say that…" Jake shrugged. "Or you could call it a wild guess…"

Ralu could roll her eyes at that comment even now. She, a rather young warrior and honestly not the best there was, leading a squad of her people into a battle that many may not even come out of alive. She had no idea what Jake saw in her but she had to believe in him. It was too late to turn back in any case…

Ralu pushed Tet'su to descend below the clouds, so that they could get Hell's Gate into their sights. Ralu glanced below. Not one guard was there around the border of Hell's Gate. Ralu knew that, according to their plan, the guards had already been killed by several Na'vi. They wanted the least resistance possible as they tried to reach the Operations Center. So far everything had proceeded without a hitch, but Ralu knew that it wouldn't be like that for long. When they finally reached the Operations Center, or rather some distance above the Operations Center, Ralu started to descend, slowly at first before going into a full nose dive. Ralu could feel the wind blowing past her face as she raced towards the roof of the Operations Center. Suddenly, Ralu could feel an abnormal gust of wind grazing her left side. She glanced at the direction and saw an AMP, point its gun at her.

"Tet'su!" Ralu cried, pulling to the right. With the combination of Ralu's pulling and mental command of moving right, Tet'su did an awkward barrel-roll, just as the AMP fired its gun. With the angle between them and the AMP, if Tet'su hadn't moved, one of them would've been hit.

As soon as the first shot was fired, the Na'vi scattered, as more shots from the ground were heard. Ralu swerved and broke away from her intended path, knowing that if she continued towards the Operations Center, she wouldn't make it. As she approached another section of the compound, she saw a group of soldiers waiting there.

As they passed overhead, Ralu took hold of her and Tet'su's bond. _"Tet'su…tswayon neto!"_ As Tet'su began to pull up again, away from the soldiers, Ralu broke the bond between the two and leapt off. (2)

Ralu landed in the middle of the crowd, landing on top of one of the soldiers and stomping him to the ground. The soldiers around him were frozen in shock, but only for a second. That second was all Ralu needed, however. She pulled the bow on her back off and swung it in a full circle, the spiky design of the bow raking through the soldiers close to her. Next to her, the Na'vi that she was leading had landed as well and were preventing any of the soldiers from retaliating. An arrow flew past Ralu and hit a soldier that was charging at her with a knife. Ralu turned around to see Jake standing there, arms still in a position showing that he had shot the arrow.

"Let's not stay in one spot too long!" Jake shouted over all the fighting.

Ralu nodded and raced off towards the compound. As Jake and several other Na'vi followed, a door opened as a couple soldiers stepped out, intending to join the fray. Ralu pulled an arrow out and shot it at the soldiers, hitting one right in the face mask. The second soldier had flinched as the arrow narrowly missed him and was immediately pounced upon by one of the knife wielding Na'vi. Ralu passed the two and ran into the building. Luckily enough the ceiling was just high enough that a Na'vi could stand straight up without hitting its head.

Suddenly, an AMP crashed through the wall of the hallway that the Na'vi were running through. In a split second, three Na'vi pushed past Ralu, including Jake, and rammed against the AMP, knocking it over.

"Go!" Jake shouted at Ralu, as one of the Na'vi stood up on top of the AMP's cockpit and fired an arrow directly into it. "We'll take care of stuff here!"

"_Eyktan,"_ one of the Na'vi still next to Ralu called, bringing her to her senses. (3)

Ralu nodded and ran past the hole that the AMP had made and where Jake and the two other Na'vi were now shooting arrows out of. Ralu only had two missions. One was the task of the entire clan and that was to find and kill Deverneil and the other was to find Kyle. Only problem was, she didn't know where to start looking. As she past an intersection, Ralu stopped at the first door she found and pulled out an arrow, just in case. She braced herself and rammed the door, crashing through it. At once she spotted someone raising a gun and immediately she pulled back the arrow and fired it, hitting him in the shoulder. The reaction of the rest of the room wasn't what Ralu was expecting though. Everyone got to their feet and pinned the injured soldier to the ground, preventing him from getting back up and fighting back.

"If you're looking for Deverneil just follow this hall and you'll find her in the room at the very end."

Ralu turned around to see Max Patel standing there looking at her through his exo-pack, though she didn't know who he was.

"T-thank you…" Ralu said, taken-aback. She backtracked out of the room and ran down the hall with the other Na'vi still following her.

-

Meanwhile, holding cells, the fighting had reached the occupant's ears.

"No!" Kyle shouted. "What are they doing?! They'll get killed!"

"How ever much I may agree with you, you can't really say you didn't expect this." Ryan said, finally getting to his feet.

Suddenly the main door opened and someone ran in. The guard immediately raised his gun but before he could fire the man who ran in shot him in the chest.

"Norm!?!" Ryder shouted in surprise as Norm ran over to their cell. "You just-"

"I know what I just did! Now if you could not talk about it, it would really help me not freak out at the moment!" Norm interrupted, keying the cell open. Even though he had attempted to participate in the final battle, his being shot prevented him from actually killing anything before now.

"Norm! What's going on?!" Kyle shouted as he got out of the cell.

"The Na'vi are attacking, obviously." Norm said, handing Kyle the gun that was slung across his shoulder. "They want to kill Deverneil and end all this."

Without another word, Kyle bolted from the room.

"Kyle!!" Ryder attempted to follow but Ryan pulled her back. "Let him go, we can't stop him."

"But-" Ryder tried to argue but the look on Ryan's face made her stop.

-

Kyle raced through the halls until he reached the Operations Center. When he reached the entrance to it, he kicked the door open and was about to run in when a gun shot rang out, making him stop in his tracks. He looked to his side to see Deverneil standing there, holding a hand gun and had obviously just attempted to shoot the first thing to walk through that door. Instinctively, Kyle kicked out and knocked the gun out of her hands. When he brought his M60 around Deverneil did the same to him, knocking the gun out of his grip. Kyle dove at Deverneil, knocking her down but was immediately kicked off.

"Why must you continue insisting on getting in my way!" Deverneil shouted, pulling out a knife and lunging at him.

Kyle quickly dove out of the way and quickly stood back up. "Same reason you keep trying to get me out. So I can get to the thing that I want."

"You mean your little alien friends?!" Deverneil retorted. "You're just as bad as those scientists and that Jake Sully. There's no reason for us to get along with them. Once we eliminate all of them on this planet we can harvest all the unobtainium we want! We'll be rich!"

"You think that you're better than them and can just simply eliminate an entire race just so that you can get rich?!" Kyle shouted, dodging Deverneil once more.

"That's the only reason we would come to this damn planet! We don't need to care about some stupid alien race. If they don't want to die then they can just get out of our way!"

Kyle growled and dove again, landing near his M60. He tried to reach for it but Deverneil kicked it out of his reach. She kicked again, this time kicking Kyle in the chest, making him collapse. She bent down and picked up her handgun and pointed it at Kyle.

"I'd say it's been nice knowing you…but it hasn't…" Deverneil said with a smirk. "So…"

Before she could pull the trigger, however, the main entrance burst open and an arrow lanced Deverneil's hand, making it impossible to shoot her gun. Both Kyle and Deverneil looked up to see Ralu charging in, bow raised and aimed at Deverneil. Before Ralu could shoot again, Deverneil pulled a thin cylinder about the size of a pen from her pocket and placed it against Kyle's head.

"You move one muscle, kitty, and your friend dies…" Deverneil threatened. When Ralu looked confused, Deverneil smirked. "You don't know what this is, do you? It's a bomb, kitty…I just push this button here and you can say goodbye to him…"

Ralu froze. She didn't know what a "bomb" was, nor what it did but she didn't want anything to hurt Kyle. Nevertheless she didn't move, keeping her bow aimed at Deverneil.

"Now if you don't want your friend to die I suggest you put down the bow…unless you want me to push the button…"

Ralu remained still, watching Deverneil carefully, thinking. Finally, she spoke. "Long ago…I would believe you…but I know now…that you are lying…" Ralu released her arrow and watched as it flew through the air and hit Deverneil in the chest, knocking her over.

Both Ralu and Kyle watched Deverneil hit the floor and stared at her unmoving body for a few seconds.

Then, Kyle turned. "Ralu…! I-"

Before Kyle could say much, Ralu threw her bow at him, the handle hitting Kyle in the head and bouncing off. _"Kyle, nga skxawng!"_(4)

"What…?!" Kyle cried, rubbing his head and completely confused.

"How could you think I was intended to Jala?!" Ralu shouted.

"Is now the time?!" Kyle shouted back.

"Jala was my brother's best friend! The one who took care of me when my brother returned to Eywa!"

"…Huh…?" Kyle had completely forgotten that there was still a battle going on outside. "But everyone said he had asked you to-"

"I never said yes!" Ralu cried out. "I refused when we were alone! Do you not think that I would tell you that I was intended?! Did I not tell you I never accepted anyone?"

"You could've been lying…" Kyle said under his breath.

"Kyle, I would never lie to you!" Ralu said. "I would never agree to be life partners with anyone other than you..." Ralu blushed as she once again brought up an embarrassing side to herself. Tears welled in her eyes as she became frustrated with the situation. "I chose to love you and I will not turn on my decision!"

"Ralu…" Kyle watched as Ralu started to wipe the tears from her eyes. He walked over to her and looked up at her. Being smaller than she was he couldn't exactly embrace her like he would in his avatar. He held his arms out and Ralu sat down, allowing Kyle to hug her. "I'm sorry Ralu. I was…being stupid…"

"Yes…you were…" Ralu mumbled.

"You're not supposed to agree with me Ralu…" Kyle said with a chuckle.

Ralu giggled slightly. "I said I would never lie to you…" Ralu gently rubbed her cheek against Kyle's. She then reached over and picked up the cylindrical device that Deverneil had threatened Kyle's life with. "What is this…?"

"Looks like a holo-frame…" Kyle said, sitting in Ralu's lap and taking the cylinder from her. "You can store pictures in these…wonder what she had stored in here…" Kyle clicked the button that Deverneil had her finger on and a projection shot out of the side, creating a holo-projection of an image.

The image was one of Deverneil, probably back on Earth, with three other people. One of them was a man, who looked like he was about the same age as Deverneil, if not older. His hand was on her shoulder as two boys, one that looked like he was in his early teens and the other looking slightly younger, stood in front of them. Deverneil was kneeling, slightly in between the two boys and they were hugging Deverneil. One probably wouldn't think that the Deverneil in the photo was the same as the one that they knew in person. Deverneil had a big, caring smile on her face, as she had her arms around the two boys and her glasses hanging off of her shirt collar.

"…Her family…" Kyle said softly, looking at the picture.

"Her life partner and children?" Ralu asked, also looking at the picture.

"Probably…" Kyle replied with a nod.

Ralu looked sadly from the picture to the lifeless body some ways away from them. "I can not help feeling I did something terrible…"

"It's not your fault…" Kyle said, leaning against Ralu. "She was asking for it…"

Ralu gave a small sad whimper and wrapped her arms around Kyle, holding him close.

Kyle smiled slightly and kissed her on the cheek gently. "Hey…how did you get away from that AMP yesterday?"

Ralu looked at Kyle, confused. And then she figured out what he meant. "Oh…"

(Yesterday)

Ralu turned to see Kyle collapse as the AMP shot him. "KYLE!"

"Don't worry, I didn't kill him." The pilot laughed.

Ralu gave a screech and leapt at the AMP, landing on it before the pilot had a chance to react. Ralu took out her knife and stabbed at the window, leaving several holes in it. Quickly, the pilot jettisoned the panel, throwing Ralu off of the suit. As Ralu was busy trying to get the panel off of herself, the pilot put on an exo-pack and was ready once more. He cocked his gun and aimed it at Ralu, just as she got free. Ralu leapt out of the way just as the pilot fired. But the pilot followed Ralu with his gun, the bullets just narrowly missing Ralu. Ralu quickly sprinted forward again and leapt at the AMP, grabbing onto it and stabbing the pilot with her knife. Unfortunately Ralu missed and only got the pilot's shoulder. It was enough, however, to anger the pilot.

"You bitch!" The pilot shouted and grabbed Ralu and threw her off of himself.

Ralu flew through the air and hit the trunk of a tree. Gasping for air, Ralu stood up to see the AMP pointing its gun at her once more.

"Die!" The pilot roared and fired. Fortunately the stab wound in his shoulder prevented the pilot from resisting the gun's recoil, making the gun jump and the bullets miss Ralu. "Damn it!" The pilot shouted in pain and raised his gun again, attempting to trying again. But when he looked, Ralu was gone.

The pilot turned left and right, trying to find any sign of Ralu. Suddenly there was a loud thump and the pilot looked up and found himself staring straight at the tip of an arrow.

"_Terkup!"_ Ralu cried and released her arrow. (5)

(Present)

"And I brought your _uniltìranyu_ to _Kelutrel_," Ralu explained. "The _lungoray_ are taking care of it…" (6)

Kyle smiled. "Thanks Ralu…" Kyle kissed Ralu on the cheek again before standing up. "Come on…let's put an end to this stupidity…"

Ralu nodded and followed Kyle outside as he put on an exo-pack.

**Eywa,**

**You were watching today, weren't you? The signs that you gave me…if it weren't for you I probably would be joining you right now…even though it is not yet my time. Thank you. And thank you for returning my Kyle to me. We were able rescue the Dream-walkers and managed to drive off the bad Sky People. Pandora is safe from the Sky People once more. I do not believe that this will be the last time that they come to Pandora, but from now until they do, I will enjoy my time.**

**Though we lost several brothers and sisters today, I am not sad, because I know that they are with you now. We held a celebration for their lives and it was a joyous event, though honestly I did not attend much of it, as I had spent most of my time with Kyle. We didn't do much…simply stayed in each other's company. I am excited to be with Kyle once more, this time properly…although our training will probably be halted until Kyle's Dream-walker body can be fixed. The Sky People toktors said that it will be ready in no time so for now we shall wait. I am not complaining…as long as I remain with Kyle I am happy.**

**Thank you, Eywa, for watching over us, and I pray that you will continue to do so.**

**

* * *

**

Translations:

(1) "_Tet'su…_ _käì!"_

"Tet'su...go!"

(2) _"Tet'su…tswayon neto!"_

"Tet'su...fly away!"

(3) "_Eyktan"_

"Leader"

(4)_ "Kyle, nga skxawng!"_

"Kyle, you moron!"

(5)_ "Terkup!"_

"Die!"

(6) _"Kelutrel"_

"Hometree"


End file.
